She's All That
by Synchypn0tic17
Summary: Tifa Lockhart is the school's biggest dork. But what happens when things begin to change? Will she let anything good happen to her, or will she stay locked up in denial? High School Au.
1. Chapter 1

She's All That

_A/N: This idea has been running around in my head for weeks now, and I finally, finally convinced myself to push away my doubts and get it off my mind and onto paper. So here I am...I know, I know, you're probably thinking, 'not another high school fanfiction!'. What can I say? I love high school stories (despite the fact that my high school life actually sucked.)! This idea actually sparked my mind when I was listening to Taylor Swift's lovely lovely song 'You Belong With Me'. If anyone hasn't seen the music video, go to youtube and watch it right now! And as the title states, this story will be loosely/ strongly...haven't quite decided yet, based on the movie 'She's All That' from 1999. So I hope you all enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: **I solemnly swear that I do not own Final Fantasy. Period. Sadly.

**Chapter 1**

It's an amazement how time seems to fly by, the way its broad white wings flash suddenly before rushing away with the wind, and sweeping your feet away in the midst of it all. It really is amazing how it can all change in a single blink of an eye, from upside down to downside up, from brutally shattered to delicately whole and content, and from a blossoming summer love to an ice cold, heartbreaking betrayal. The changes in one's life were ultimately inevitable.

You just can't stop your life from changing. She knew that. She also knew one more thing…

When change decided to pay an utterly uncanny visit on her doorstep…

Tifa Lockhart would be ready.

And currently, a transition from the relaxed and boring summer holidays to a bustling school of busy days with homework and serious effort was to be made. Of course, Tifa didn't complain at all as she shut off her alarm clock, slid on her thick eyeglasses and headed off to her bathroom. She had prepared herself after all. She was ready to stay unaffected by this small change.

After changing out of her night dress and tying her hair into her usual two braids, she rushed down to the kitchen to make breakfast and pack lunch for her brother. Her father had to get to work early, he had told her last night and apologized for being absent on their first day of school. Tifa had rolled her eyes and waved it off, telling him that it was no big deal and she'd take care of it. The first day of school really wasn't that big of a deal, even if it was her last and senior year of high school.

"Denzel!" the brunette knocked on a shut door that sported a sign that clearly stated to keep out. Not that she even cared about what he kept in his messy room, anyway. She banged the door with her palm and hissed his name.

"What!" came a groggy and muffled voice.

"_School _is what! You'll be late. C'mon. Get up."

"Alright…gimme ten minutes…"

"_Denzel, _get up in ten and you'll find only broccoli and green beans for lunch."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." And soon enough, footsteps sounded and the door yanked open to reveal a disheveled image of a boy around the age of twelve, with mussed auburn hair and pale blue eyes. He stumbled down past her towards the bathroom. "God, I hate school."

Tifa ignored him and proceeded back down the stairs.

Without the reliance of a vehicle to take her to school, her only option of transportation was to walk. It usually took her fifteen minutes to get to Midgar Academy. Denzel's school was on the opposite side and a little bit further than hers.

While Denzel left to the garage to get his bike, Tifa quickly made sure the stove was turned off and nothing else was left the way it shouldn't be before grabbing her school bag and closing the front door.

Suddenly, a door to her right loudly swung open and to Tifa's unfortunate distaste, a tall boy with unusual bright blonde hair dressed in preppy jeans and a hooded sweatshirt strode down the steps of his porch and over to his sleek silver car. Just the sight of him made her want to roll her eyes in disgust. He may look innocent, with those adorable blue eyes and messy hair, but she knew him for what he really was. A rude, good for nothing jerk. Sadly, Tifa had the absolute _pleasure_ of having Cloud Strife as a next door neighbor for practically all her life. Joy.

After locking the door, Tifa made her way over to Denzel.

"Don't hang around after school too long. Dad said he'd pick us up so remember to wai—" Tifa blinked. Denzel stood frozen, hands loosely held onto his rusty blue bike. His eyes were transfixed with wonder at something behind her.

Tifa quickly spun her head around to see Cloud slip into the driver's seat and adjust the rearview mirror, one hand held a phone to his ear and the other leisurely resting on the top of the steering wheel. Y_ou've got to be kidding me, _thought Tifa as she turned back to face her brother.

"Dude…he's awesome. His car is awesome…He's just... awesome." He said amazed, his eyes still glued to the blonde next door.

"_Denzel!_"

"What?" he blinked.

She threw up her hands in frustration. "You didn't even listen to a word I said! I told you—"

"That Dad's picking us up so remember to wait outside by the school parking lot." Denzel rolled his eyes and mounted on his bike. "I know. Jeez sis, don't get so worked up. You need to relax, no wonder you have no friends…I bet you just fire up at them."

"_What_? I am _not _getting so worked up! And I _am _relaxed! And I _do_ have friends you twerp!" Yup. She was _definitely _getting fired up.

Denzel faked a yawn as he began to paddle away. "Whatever. See ya, sis."

And to further ignite the fire in her, a not-so-quiet-kind-of-meant-to-be-heard snort sounded from behind and she gritted her teeth before whirling around to face him. But he was already gone, driving down the street in his _awesome, sleek, shiny _car_._

Rolling her eyes and resisting to growl, Tifa pushed her glasses further up her nose and stalked down the sidewalk. She really needed to relax.

---

History class was a complete bore. Tifa was seated at the back of the classroom, much to her dismay. First of all, she couldn't hear what her teacher was saying…he was _much _too soft spoken. Secondly, a couple of immature boys seated next to her kept snickering as they sent each other texts. And _thirdly, _a girl dressed in _way _too much pink sat in front of her and every thirty seconds, her hands would reach behind and fix her long brown hair…

Wait, what? What was wrong with her…this wasn't like her…complaining about the tiniest things. The day really hadn't started off as she had planned, _well;_ everything was fine until _he _showed up. She didn't know why he got on her nerves so much. She sighed, this was really no excuse. She had to get back on track. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath. _Relax,_ she told herself. _Focus, focus, focus…!_

"…many people say, 'why need history?', and 'who cares about the past', but you know what? Where would we really be without the knowledge of our past? With lack of knowledge concerning the history of our world, we may not be able to comprehend why things are the way they are today. Am I correct?"

Tifa nodded enthusiastically as she jotted down notes. Her lips pressed together in concentration, _that's more like it. _

For the remaining of the period, Mr. Bennett handed out worksheets and textbooks while the students filled out forms and such that were compulsory for the beginning of the school year.

As soon as the bell rang, pens and pencils dropped, chairs screeched against the floor, and feet shuffled as students rushed out classrooms and flooded throughout the hallways. Tifa clutched tightly onto her books as she was swept away with the crowd.

And as if the hallways weren't already a blur due to loud and impatient teenage boys and girls bustling through to get to their next class, something hard impacted with Tifa, and in a heartbeat and a whirlwind of dizziness, she landed on the floor, with her books and belongings scattering across the floor.

Wincing in pain, she rubbed at her side.

"My bad—_oh_, it's you." He sneered.

Ruby eyes met an icy stare of beautiful blue.

Cloud shook his head before offering her a hand, "Watch where you're going next time."

Tifa silently eyed his outstretched hand, before lifting her own. But before she could grasp it he withdrew from her reach. A smirk played at his lips as he suddenly turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd.

Shock impaled her as she was left there, in the middle of the hallway to stare disbelievingly at the back of that brutal _jerk. _

"Why do you take crap from that guy?" someone sighed as she bent down to pick up the history textbook lying on the floor. Tifa turned her head to see Jessie, her best friend since freshman year. She had wavy brown hair and hazel eyes and had an obsession for anything that was hi-tech and mechanical. She was much shorter than Tifa, measuring to about 5'4" as the latter was a couple inches taller.

Tifa shrugged before standing and swiping the dust off her overalls and adjusted her glasses. She took a breath before speaking, "Just keeping it cool. First day of school, right?"

Jessie groaned and handed Tifa her textbook as they both began walking down the hall. "Don't remind me…"

Tifa shook her head as they went their separate ways, Jessie to the Tech wing and Tifa towards her French class.

---

The cafeteria was almost full by the time Tifa made her way in and stood in line to buy her lunch. While waiting, she turned her head and scanned the large room for Jessie.

"_No! _Are you out of your mind? I said _I'll_ do the shopping, Godo. Aerith and I plan on going next week!" A small girl with short black hair stood in line before Tifa, she held a phone to her ear with one hand and tossed a glowing blue bouncy ball in the other. She wore a black tank top and tiny grey shorts with striped knee socks and boots, and a bandana tied around her head. Her name was Yuffie Kisaragi. She was originally from Wutai and claimed to be a ninja princess, but her and father escaped to seek refuge in Midgar when Wutai was taken over.

Yuffie was so busy talking on her phone she didn't realize she was holding up the line, nor did she noticed the lunch lady's angry remarks regarding the fact that all cell phones were to be turned _off _at all times inside the school building.

"_Dad, _your choice sucks ass, no offense. Leave it to me! I told you that I'd take care of i—"

"_Miss Kisaragi! _You are breaking school rules!"

"Dude, move it, you're next!"

"—Don't _worry! Jeez,_ Godo—I mean, _Dad._ You're such a worry wart.

Tifa cleared her throat and pushed her glasses further up her nose before reaching out and tapping the girl's shoulder. She didn't even notice. She tried again. Fail. And again. Still no good. Tifa sighed before finally, left with not much choice, she stiffly smacked a hand on her back. _A bit harder than intended._

"Ow!! _What?!" _The girl hissed as she whirled around to face the braided brunette. Tifa gave her a bored look.

"I'm hungry."

Yuffie raised her eyebrows in question before realizing what Tifa meant, eyes moving down the long line of students behind her. An embarrassed laugh escaped her as she abruptly stepped aside. "Heh, sorry about that," she said before she quickly walked out of the cafeteria and made to go outside, so she couldn't be disturbed.

Jessie had rushed in fifteen minutes later, apologizing for being late with the excuse that her teacher had a technical difficulty with the computers and asked for Jessie's help.

Tifa raised a brow. "Isn't _he_ supposed to be helping _you_ and not you _him_?"

Jessie only waved it off and excitedly told her she had received bonus marks due to her ingenious knowledge on 'how things work'.

_Some teacher, _thought Tifa wryly as she finished off her yogurt.

After lunch period ended, Tifa trudged up to the third floor. She had English now and to her delight she had one of the best English teachers in this school, Ms. Shera. She was actually the head of the department and Tifa had only ever heard positive things about her.

But when she stepped into classroom number 302, she saw not the young and beautiful face of Ms. Shera but a blonde man with light stubble and a butt chin. He smelled strongly of tobacco and carried a frighteningly chilly aura with him.

He turned his head towards her and she noticed a badly chewed ballpoint pen hanging loosely between his lips.

"Welcome," he grunted. "Now sit yer ass down" he demanded as he wacked a ruler against his desk.

Eyes wide, Tifa turned stiffly and made her way to an empty desk near the doorway and dropped her bag on it.

"Hold it!"

She blinked.

"What are you doing?"

Tifa glanced at the chair before meeting eyes and speaking slowly. "Sit-ting…?"

"Did I give you permission?" he asked as he chewed on his pen.

"Yes…" she could hear the silent snickers echoing from her classmates.

"Did I tell you _where?"_

"No…"

He folded his arms and continuing chewing. "Damn right, I didn't." He then took his ruler and pointed to the middle of the classroom. "I want you to sit at that desk, right in front of Strife, there."

Tifa froze. Great. Just _great. He _was in her class?! Fantastic. Just wonderful. She didn't dare meet his eyes or even look his way as she slowly moved her things to the desk in front of him. Why oh _why? _Wasn't it enough torture that he was her neighbor? Why was her day filled with that stupid blonde hair blue eyed jerk? She prayed to God that Cloud would somehow, miraculously decide to drop out of this class…

She didn't believe in miracles, though. _Sigh._

She was pulled from her thoughts once the teacher began talking again.

He slammed the ruler against the desk once more.

"Name's Cid Highwind." He said loudly as he paced the floor. "Call me Mr. Highwind and _only _Mr. Highwind. I ain't gonna respond if I'm referred to as Cid or _Ciddy_ or High or Wind. Call me Mr. Highwind." He gave everyone a good look in the eye. "Understood?"

Before the students could reply or nod in acknowledgment he continued, "Ms. Shera is unfortunately incapable of teachin' at the moment. I'll be replacin' her as yer English teacher for the time bein'."

He paused and glanced at the students again before a wicked smile spread across his face. "Cheer up you horny cows!" he slammed his hands down on the desk and leaned in, his voice deviously low. "We're gonna have fun this year."

_Joy. _

**So how was it? Like it? Hate it? Reviews and feedback would be great! **

**-Sync**


	2. Chapter 2

**She's All That**

_A/N: Helloo, so here's the next chapter. I'm not entirely pleased with it and thus planned on submitting it tomorrow, so I can have extra time for fixing up rough edges. But eh, what the heck. Hope you like. I only proof read this once, so I apologize if there are errors and typos. Also, I know it's probably difficult to imagine Tifa as a dork (I know it's difficult for me!)...so let me remind you! Tifa always wears her hair in two braids on either side of her head and wears thick, oversized frames! Oh! And I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter, it really made my day! :)_

**Chapter Two**

Days went by like paper in the wind as September neared its end and welcomed the slight chilly breeze of October's autumn. It was already a few weeks into school and the work load was higher than ever. But despite the immense pressure that was forcefully placed on almost every single senior student of Midgar Academy, school life was pretty much satisfactory.

Tifa managed to stay on top with all her work and provide her undivided attention towards her teachers in all of her classes. Though she tried her best in everything she did, English class was a whole different story. It was, without doubt,her least favorite class of all time. But she survived, of course, and that's what mattered in the end.

However, the upside of Tifa Lockhart's school life was her last period class. Her absolute favorite class of the day was Art class. They _did _say the best should always be saved for last…

To Tifa, art wasn't just about drawing lines, stippling and painting the skies. Art was her escape, her sanity. To Tifa, art was beautiful. To her, the beauty in art was not the precision of each brush stroke and the intricate detail found in a self portrait, but was that each brush stroke and pencil line didn't _have _to be perfect to tell a beautiful story.

Last period was the only time she'd sigh in relief and allow her imagination to take her away to the wildest of places buried deep within the confines of her mind.

Once, Ms. Valerie had the class draw something that appealed to them, something…or someone, even, that they loved and cherished. And Tifa sat there, and closed her eyes and let herself melt away as she was pulled back, way…way…back…and the only thing she could do was trust her hands as they began to move on their accord.

"Miss Lockhart, that is a lovely portrait!" exclaimed her teacher as she peered from behind Tifa at the piece of paper laying in front of her. "Is that your mother?"

Ruby eyes remained focused on her sketch. The woman's dark hair billowed slightly with the wind and her lips curved in that gracious, soft smile she always gave her daughter. It always held a tinge of secrecy and mystery…as if she knew something no one else did.

"Yes," her voice was almost inaudible.

Ms. Valerie placed a gentle hand on Tifa's shoulder, "She's beautiful."

She was staring at the sketch of her mother again. Amazing how time flies by…it has already been ten years. She wonders what it would have been like if she were still here. Maybe if she were still alive, things wouldn't have changed so much.

Maybe things wouldn't be so…different.

"Tifa!"

She snapped out of her thoughts before turning her head towards the door.

"Yes, Dad?" she called.

"Help me with dinner, will ya?"

"Coming!"

Sighing, the brunette got up from her place on her bed and after one last, long look, she placed the sketch safely in her drawer and headed downstairs.

"So…" started Harry Lockhart as he helped himself to some brown rice and chicken, "How was school, Denzel?"

The boy merely shrugged as he stuffed a spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth. "'Punched Danny Pudgens 'cause he's such a douche bag."

Tifa almost choked on her vegetables as she glared at her brother. "Denzel, you just don't punch someone because they're a _douche bag!_"

He only shrugged.

Tifa turned to her father, looking bewildered. "Dad!"

"Denzel," Mr. Lockhart fixed his son with a calm gaze, but there was warning laced beneath his gravel voice.

The redhead remained silent as he poked around his food.

"He said that I was a worthless piece of crap and I'll never get far in life." He finally muttered.

Mr. Lockhart sighed as he lightly dropped his spoon on to his plate and clasped his hands together.

"Denzel…you're not a worthless piece of crap. You and I _both _know that," the lack of reaction from Denzel caused the older man to sigh once again and shift in his seat. "Look, son. There are two types of people in this world. Ones who care about you and want you to exceed in life and ones who don't give a damn and enjoy putting you down and making you feel like you're not worth much at all…Those who don't give a damn shouldn't matter, its the ones who love you that count."

Tifa pushed through the door to take out the trash. It was evident a father-son moment was in order and gladly volunteered to clean up and finish up the evening chores.

It was dark now, and almost silent with only the sound of crickets and occasional cars that drove by. The skies were dim with only a faint glow emitting from behind soft clouds. The stars glistened with the moon, calling and beckoning her forward. Her mother used to tell her that the stars were angels that would watch over her when it became dark. And they would whisper lullabies to her and make her feel safe and at peace.

But as she stood in the middle of the driveway, staring up, she failed to understand what her mother meant. Her brows furrowed. She couldn't hear anything. There were no angels…no whispers…no lullabies…

Nothing.

"Oi!"

She jumped to see Cloud standing adjacent to her, near his own driveway, with his own bag of trash.

She really didn't want to bother with him right now…

"What." She mumbled as she dumped the garbage in the trash can.

"Who were you talking to up there? 'Cause I've got this science project on extraterrestrial creatures from Mars…and it'd be _great_ if you could persuade one to come down here so I can use it as part of my presentation."

Tifa closed the lid shut before walking back up her porch.

"So what d'you say?" asked Cloud as he dumped his trash into his bin.

"Go away."

"Aw come on—"

"I don't want to talk to you." She wrenched her door open.

"Wait! Alright, I'm sorry…But I really wanted to talk to you—_Tifa!_"

Clenching her teeth, she whirled around and folded her arms across her chest. "What?" she sighed.

The blonde scratched the back of his neck before speaking, "Well…it'd actually be even better if I used _you_ as a real life exemplar. You know, I think I'd even get an A for it."

Scowling at the teasing smile threatening to break free from his lips, she stalked back and slammed the door shut.

Cloud chuckled lightly and shook his head before heading back inside.

"Cloud?" called a female voice.

He strolled down the hall to the kitchen to find a short blonde woman standing on her toes as she reached for a large bowl sitting at the top shelf in one of the cupboards. She turned her face towards him as a huff of frustration sounded from her lips.

"Get that for me, will you?" asked Amy Strife.

Cloud took the remaining steps towards his mother and reached for the bowl with little effort and handed it to her.

She gratefully took the bowl from his hands and sighed. "What would I do without you?"

"_Probably_…not much." He smirked.

Ms. Strife lightly swatted his head and began pouring the left over soup from dinner into the bowl.

"I won't be home until eight tomorrow." She said as she moved the bowl into the refrigerator and began washing the dishes.

Cloud leaned back and rested his elbows on the kitchen counter behind him. "How come? Where will you be?"

"Nowhere special, just at the dentist's. My tooth's been killing me for quite some time now. I think it's time I get it checked."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, see," she opened her mouth wide and pointed her index finger to one of her lower molar teeth. "Isth this wun wight heya."

Cloud groaned as he looked away, bringing his hand in front of his mother's face. "Mom, please. We just had dinner."

The blonde woman only giggled in response and pecked him lightly on his cheek.

"Done all your homework?" she asked as she dried her hands.

Cloud stared up at the ceiling. "Yeup."

"Well, I'm going to watch some TV and then I'm going to bed."

"Okay. I'll be in my room."

Cloud left the kitchen and headed upstairs, skipping a step with each leap he took. He collapsed on his bed as he took his phone out and flipped it open. It read one missed call. He dialed the number and waited before speaking.

"Zack."

"Yo! Cloudi –oh! Where you at, man?"

"Home, where are you?"

"Just dropped off Scarlet...I'm heading for Reno's, you coming?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Alright. I'll be there in five."

Cloud flipped his phone shut as he rolled off his bed and grabbed his sweatshirt before jogging down the stairs.

"Mom, I'm going out for a bit!" he called and slipped through the door before she could even protest.

---

It was Tuesday morning the next day and the students of Midgar Academy happily chattered away as they hung around the school grounds as if it was summer. The parking lot was slowly filling itself as cars drove in while other students resorted to walking or biking to school.

"'Kay, I've got a late meeting this afternoon, so I'll try my best to pick you up as soon as I can," spoke Mr. Lockhart as he parked his car near the school and turned to Tifa, but she had already stepped out of the car and was busy adjusting the bag on her shoulders. "So if I don't show up for a while, do you mind walking home?"

"No, that's fine, Dad." She flashed him a quick smile before rushing towards the building. Squeezing herself through the crowd, she managed to make it inside and climbed the stairs to the second floor. It was fairly quiet in the hallways, save for a few people opening and closing their lockers. The brunette turned on her left and silently opened the door to her history class. The chairs were neatly tucked in and the blackboard was washed and clean. She was the first to come in.

Slowly, she walked down towards the back of the room and dropped her bag onto her desk before sitting down. Just as she was about to take out her history binder, the door opened and a sweet, girly voice echoed in.

"Okay take care, see you at lunch!"

It was Aerith Gainsborough. The girl who sat in front of her and wore an excessive amount of pink stepped in to the classroom and paused slightly to take in the emptiness of the room.

"Guess we're a little early, huh?" she lightly said as she made her way to the desk in front of Tifa. She was awfully beautiful, noticed Tifa, with gorgeous emerald green eyes and long, luscious curly hair twisting down her back. She wore a white knee length dress with a coral pink cardigan and a darker shade of pink hand bag.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced yet," she had turned around in her seat and smiled at Tifa. "I mean…we're in two of the same classes and it's been almost a month and we've never really spoken with one another, kinda funny if you think about it."

Oh yeah, she was in her English class as well…

She cleared her throat and straightened in her seat. "I'm Aerith Gainsborough."

"Tifa Lockhart." she felt oddly nervous under Aerith's gaze, and felt the urge to fiddle with her glasses to compose herself. She gave her a small smile, "Nice to meet you."

Aerith replied with her own smile, only it was much more cheerful and lively, and Tifa felt as the room was suddenly brighter than it had been a few minutes ago.

"So, are you excited about senior year?" asked the green eyed beauty.

Tifa almost snorted, but resorted to shrugging, "Not really, but I _am _happy to know it's the last year of high school I'd ever have to endure for the rest of my life."

Aerith grinned and her eyes went wide with enthusiasm. "I _know_, right? I can't wait! It'll be a whole new world out there!"

Before Tifa could respond, which she was quite thankful for, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in her presence; a group of students came bursting in the classroom whilst laughing about something they'd seen on TV. Soon the classroom was packed and when Mr. Bennett arrived, all conversations were to come to an end and homework was to be taken out.

The morning quickly diminished as afternoon classes were ready to start. Tifa bade goodbye to Jessie after lunch ended and headed for class. Aerith caught up to Tifa on her way to English and they both walked the remaining way together. Aerith found her seat at the front of the class and Tifa wove through the occupied desks until she found hers in the center of the room.

She prepared herself for yet another dreadful class of literature. It wasn't the fact that she despised literature, no, no…in fact, Tifa loved reading and writing. It was because…

"Alright, you bird brains!"

Cid Highwind was possibly the worst English teacher that ever lived on the planet. His vocabulary was worse than a seven year old and more vulgar than any teacher should be allowed to have. Besides, Tifa honestly doubted he knew much about literature. Seeing as it's been almost a month and all the students ever received were worksheets on rhyming words and explaining the difference between a period, a comma, and an exclamation mark counted as obvious proof.

"Take out yer homework, now! I wanna see—"

The door opened and all eyes shifted to their left. Mr. Highwind turned and folded his arms across his chest, eyes narrowing into tiny slits.

Nobody. Nobody interrupted Cid Highwind.

"STRIFE!" he barked.

Cloud walked in as if nothing was wrong and slumped in his chair. He did a small wave with his hand and sent a lopsided smile at his teacher. "Ello."

Cid only glowered at him, unimpressed. He pointed a finger at him, "I'm lettin' you go this time, kid. 'Cause you're on the team, and you've been punctual most days. I'm warnin' ya, one more time ya bring yer ass late to class, I'll give ya a nice long detention after school."

Cloud merely nodded as he leaned against the back of his chair.

Cid began wandering about the classroom as he clapped his hands to retain the attention of the class. "Enough foolin' around! We've got work to do! Take out yer homework and share it with the person behind you! Now!"

A buzz of chatter immediately sounded and Tifa sat still in her seat. She noticed there were only two people in front of her, and they had already begun taking up their work. To her horror, she realized what that meant…

"Hey, martianhead," blue eyes watched her back stiffen. "Hellloo…" she didn't budge.

Cloud rolled his eyes and stretched his legs out and tucked his foot under Tifa's chair. A yelp escaped her lips as he yanked her chair back and twisted it around so she was face to face with him. The blonde leaned his elbow on his desk as he rested his cheek against his hand, a smirk plastered on his face. "That's much better."

Tifa only grimaced and stared down on her worksheet. "What did you write for number one?"

"Down, clown, town, and crown." he said, feeling bored.

"I wrote…noun, brown, gown, and frown." replied the brunette. These worksheets were absolutely pointless...It was like grade _two _stuff.

"What about the second one…"

Cloud sighed before saying, "Sexy, smexy, Laura Mackenzie.

Tifa paused to see him smiling, and just rolled her eyes.

"I wrote… tax—"

"Hey, you've got something on your glasses…" said Cloud as he stared at her.

She gave him a funny look. "No, I don't."

"How would you know?"

"'Cause I'm looking through them. And I can see just fine."

"I'm serious. There's something there…"

After giving him a piercing look, she slid off her glasses and examined them. They were perfectly clean. "See? There's nothing – Hey! Give them back!"

Cloud sent her an innocent smile, "But they're so cute, I want them."

"Give them back."

He slid on her glasses and blinked. "How do I look?"

"Ridiculous." He really did. His blue orbs were twice as big. They looked like they belonged to some clueless fish…Was that how she looked?

"Yeah right. You're just jealous, aren't you?"

"Whatever."

"You're really jealous?"

"Give. Me. Back. My." She gritted her teeth and with all her force, kicked his shin with the heel of her shoe. "Glasses!"

"Oww!" hissed Cloud.

"What's goin' on here?!" Tifa squinted her eyes to see Cid standing next to them, as he chewed on his pen.

"We were just—"she began to say.

"Detention for both ya! Afterschool!" he demanded and walked away without another word.

Tifa opened and closed her mouth as she gaped at his back. She turned to Cloud as she scowled and leaned forward to snatch her glasses from his face. "Thanks a lot." She bit out.

Cloud remained unaffected as he merely smiled at her, "No problem."

English class was _definitely _her least favorite class of all time.

* * *

**Reviews are much appreciated! ^_^**

**-Sync**


	3. Chapter 3

**She's All That**

_A/N: Chapter three! Hope you like?_

**Chapter Three**

It was oddly funny how when you wanted time to pass…it just didn't. No matter how long you'd stare at the clock, the hour hand wouldn't budge as the minute one would only, quite generously, move up one tenth of a notch. And as the impatience in you begins to amplify, you fail to understand exactly _why _there is such a statement as _time flies. _

Because to Tifa Lockhart, it felt as time was _anything _but flying as she sat at her desk, lightly drumming her fingertips upon her resting cheek. She sent daggers at the old clock hanging at the top of the wall that failed to aid her in her desperate longing to escape the dreadful atmosphere of room number 302. The need to get away from her bizarre and illiterate teacher and of course, the all time _infuriating _Cloud Strife, was beyond necessary.

She swore; if that guy kicked at her chair _one more time…_

The bell rang.

Thank _God._

Her chair loudly scraped against the floor as she grabbed her belongings and promptly ran out the door. She hadn't bothered looking back at the surprised expressions of her classmates. She had just barely heard Cid reminding her of her detention after school before pushing her way through the uproar of students in the hallway as she clutched tightly at her books.

Honestly? Detention…_detention! _Just because that _jerk _stole _her _glasses and she could barely _see _anything and she wasn't allowed to express her _feelings?_! _She _didn't do anything! Why was _she_ being punished?

Her feet came to a halt as she stood outside her last period classroom. She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and closed her eyes. _Relax…it's just detention. Not that big of a deal._ _Just…relax…_

This was art class she was talking about, she couldn't let a bad neighbor, an equally bad teacher, and her unfortunate bad luck spoil the time she most enjoyed, could she? Certainly not.

Class begun shortly after the brunette found her seat.

"Okay everyone," began as she stood in front of the class. "So, yesterday I had asked you to sketch something or some_one _that you cherished and admired. Today," she clasped her hands in excitement as an animated smile blossomed her pale face, "I'd like you to draw something or _someone_ …that you _despise." _

Around her, sketchbooks were being flipped open as students laughed and chatted amongst each other as they began working. Tifa, however, sat perfectly still, staring dumfounded across the room.

Must she be reminded? Seriously, the more she tried to remain calm, the more the world around her retaliated. And as if she had not scolded herself about complaining in the first place, every inch of frustration and irritation she felt from the previous hour came happily rushing back.

"Tifa?"

The brunette blinked to see Ms. Valerie's curious gaze upon her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

Tifa forced a tight smile and gave a curt nod, immediately lowering eyes onto her sketchbook. Her smile turned sour and grim and her brows furrowed, her expressions gradually changing from utter disbelief to something akin to evil and maddening, as she furiously scribbled onto the surface of her page.

The time quickly passed by as the period almost neared its end. A satisfied smile tugged at her lips as she looked down at her finished piece. It faltered, however, when she felt multiple pairs of eyes glancing curiously at her way. Maybe, she took this assignment a little too seriously…

"If you are done, then you can pick up the homework sheets I've left at the back table," called the teacher from her desk.

Tifa slid off her seat and took a step before spinning around and snatching her sketchbook and narrowing her eyes at the curly haired boy who attempted to steal a glance at her drawing. Clutching it to her chest, she made her way to the back table.

Unfortunately for her, a pair of long legs dressed in black, narrow jeans sticking out from underneath one of the desks collided with Tifa's own as the sketchbook slipped from beneath her fingers and dropped to the floor. And before she could bend down, a pale hand had already retrieved it from the floor.

"Sorry about that," his voice was deep, and rough, almost sounding as if he'd been sleeping for years. He had uneven, long black hair that fell past his shoulders and sported a deep red bandana that matched his t-shirt. But what caught her attention was his eyes; so rich and deep and _crimson_...

She could only blink as he offered the book to her, "here."

"…thanks." she said as she took it from his hand.

He motioned towards her book, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours,"

Tifa considered his offer before accepting and sliding her book towards him. His eyes widened slightly as he stared at her illustration before the corners of his lips twitched. He glanced at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Cloud Strife…?"

Tifa drew her eyebrows together as she placed her hands on his desk and leaned in, her voice deadly low, "I _despise _him."

Curiosity sparked in his crimson pools, and before he could stop himself he asked, "What'd he do?"

However, the incredulous look the brunette sent him had him wishing he hadn't uttered a word.

"What'd he do?" she hissed and leaned in even more, "What did he _do_?! He got me in _detention_! He stole my _glasses_!And when I tried to get them back _I _got in trouble! He kicks at my chair for fun, and I'm telling you, it's _not _fun. And you know what else? He's my _neighbor! _Yeah! I know! _Neighbor! Lucky me. _Aren't neighbors supposed to be nice? Well, he's NOT. He thinks I'm a _Martian _from_ Mars! _Can you _believe _that guy?And you're asking me _what'd he do?!" _

He stared at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly hanging open. She was practically fuming. He blinked and swallowed before speaking, hoping to God he didn't say anything else to provoke her anger.

"Damn…um. Wow, he's…he's just terrible, that Cloud." he nodded reassuringly.

She released a long, heavy breath and straightened herself. As if realizing what she had just done, her eyes widened in horror and her body became stiff.

"I'm sorry. I…didn't mean to—get all…worked up…It just came out…" she said, ashamed.

"Don't worry about it. Happens to everyone," he gave a small smirk. "That was pretty deep, though."

Tifa looked away, still feeling quite embarrassed about her sudden outburst. Her fingers adjusted her glasses and she cleared her throat, fixing her gaze towards him again. "What about yours…?"

"Oh," he glanced in front of him and picked up his sketchpad and turned it so she could see. He shrugged sheepishly, "I… really don't like bees…?"

She stared.

"I'm Vincent, by the way," he said, as his lips curved into a smile "Vincent Valentine. I'm new this year."

---

The shrill sound of the school bell that echoed across the building indicated the end of the day. Cloud rushed out of his History class and descended down the stairs, holding his textbook in one hand and idly twirling his pen in the other.

"Hi, Cloud!" he lifted his head to see a blonde haired girl standing at the bottom of the stairs, waving at him as she smiled sweetly.

"Hey, Connie," he sent her a small smile before making his way down the hallway, towards his locker. He was about to reach for his lock, but a light tap on the back of his shoulder caused him to look up again, only to meet eyes with another girl, this time with straight black hair. She leaned back against the locker next to his and looked up, twirling her hair with a finger.

"Cloud, I don't get anything in Math," she pouted. "And you promised me that you'd help me understand…so I thought, maybe we could study together tonight?"

"Funny, I don't remember promising anything…" he raised his brows.

The raven haired girl playfully swatted his chest. "Oh, you know what I mean…"

Cloud sent her a clueless smile as he gently pushed her hands off him, "Actually… I don't."

"Oh, quit being such a tease," she pouted again before slipping a piece of paper in the pocket of his shirt. "Here's my number, call me," she winked before walking away.

And before he could register anything else, a sudden force had him pushed against his locker and all air in him had rushed out.

"CLOUD! I've missed you! Why didn't you call me last night?" said a high pitched voice.

The blonde groaned, "Geroff me, Reno!"

"Easy there, yo!" Reno Walters grinned as he backed away, allowing Cloud some space. Cloud rolled his eyes and punched the redhead in his shoulder before turning back to his locker, which he had been _attempting _to open for the past five minutes…

Finally, he yanked it open and thrust his book inside and picked up his bag.

"So, who was the hot chick back there?" asked Reno, as he searched through the crowd.

"Some girl in my class. Where's Zack?"

"Oh, he should be around here…somewhere," mumbled Reno, not paying much attention.

Cloud slammed his locker shut and turned around. He pulled out the paper from his pocket and slipped it in Reno's before giving it a pat. "She's all yours,"

"Duuude!" exclaimed Reno as he stared down at his chest. He looked up to see Cloud had left as he was already halfway down the hall way. "Yo! Wait up!" he shouted as he ran after the blonde.

---

"Zack, baby," a heavily sugared voice purred, "_Relax_…"

A tall, dark haired young man braced an arm against the wall as he stared down at his girlfriend. An exasperated sigh escaped him as his handsome features scrunched with distress.

Violet blue eyes closed for half a second before he let out a small laugh, "Really. You're telling me to relax."

"It was _nothing_…"

Zack Fair arched his brow, as he stared disbelievingly at the blonde haired girl before him.

"He was _touching _you, Scarlet."

Scarlet waved her hand, "He might have just brushed my arm, nothing more."

"_Nothing more? _Don't play dumb, Scar, I _saw _everything. You were practically all over him. _You_ lead him on. "

Icy blue eyes narrowed as Scarlet rested her hands on her hips, "Oh, so now you're blaming _me?_"

Zack countered her gaze as he crossed his arms against his chest, "And what if I am?"

"It's not my fault people can't resist me," she replied nonchalantly as she examined her perfectly manicured nails.

He couldn't believe her! "So what? Just 'cause everyone thinks you're _hot_, it doesn't matter if other guys touch your ass despite the fact that you have a _boyfriend?!"_

"You're overreacting," she said in a bored voice, "Besides," she glanced away from her nails and towards Zack, "if I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."

Zack only gaped at her. He resisted the urge to slam the wall with his fist in frustration. He ran a hand through his dark hair before dropping it to his side, "You know what. Forget it."

"About time," she sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I'm going out shopping with Ciss and Priss." She began walking away before she turned her head and called back, "Pick me up at seven for dinner." And with a kiss blown his way, she stalked down the hall, pushing anyone who stood in her path.

A low whistle from behind caused the black haired figure to turn around. Cloud had his arms folded against his chest as he leaned sideways against the wall. His brows were raised and his lips twitched with amusement.

"That went...smooth." he smirked.

Zack sighed as he shook his head, "God, she makes me crazy." he muttered.

Reno clapped his friend on the shoulder, reassuringly, "Well, at least she makes you crazy, right? That's a good thing."

"No, it's not a good thing, you dickhead." Cloud explained. "Crazy as in she's outta control…"

Zack just grinned and shook his head at Reno. "Whatever, let's get out of here."

"I can't" Cloud sighed. "Got Detention."

"Dang, what'd you do this time?" Zack asked.

Cloud groaned, shrugging one shoulder. "Highwind…need I say more?"

By the time Cloud shoved his hands in his pockets and began ascending the stairs, most of the students had already left school. He strolled down the quiet hallways, casually turning his head towards open classrooms, getting glimpses of teachers working at their desks or caretakers of the school cleaning up after the students. He pulled out his phone and began scrolling through his playlist as he plugged in his earphones—

He paused in his tracks when he spotted a small hooded figure crouched beside an open classroom. Slowly, he inched closer as he uncovered the figure to be a female. There was only one person he knew who was as tiny and just as sneaky…

The blonde stretched his arm as he grabbed the back of her hood and yanked it back. A sharp breath sounded as olive green eyes flashed surprisingly at him.

"What—"

"Shh!!" she quickly covered his mouth with her hand to keep him quiet. She then grabbed his wrist as she pulled him over to the hallway on their right before rounding on him, "What are you _doing_, sneaking up on me like that?!" she hissed.

Cloud arched an eyebrow, "_I'm _sneaking?" he whispered back, "What are _you _doing?"

Yuffie narrowed her eyes at him before casually swiping off the dust from her sleeves, "'Nothing."

Cloud rolled his eyes; he already knew what she was doing. "Right. Well, I've got detention," he glanced at the time on his phone, "and I'm already half an hour late—"

"Cool! I'll walk with you!" chirped the short haired girl as she began pushing Cloud forward. Cloud merely shrugged and continued walking. Slightly curious, he peered inside the open classroom as they walked by, and to his surprise, blue eyes met crimson. There stood Vincent, near the teacher's desk while a teacher scribbled down on a piece of paper.

Vincent nodded in acknowledgement before his eyes slid over to the petite girl who clutched at the back of Cloud's shirt. He was seeing her quite frequently for the past couple of weeks…

Cloud returned Vincent's gesture before him and the girl disappeared out the doorway.

As soon as they turned down another hallway, Yuffie grabbed him by the front, "Oh my god! You _know _him?!" she hissed.

"Yeah," shrugged Cloud, as he struggled to loosen Yuffie's tight grip, "Name's Vincent. Just transferred from Mideel this year…he's the new principal's son."

At that, Yuffie's eyes grew huge and her fingers slipped from Cloud's chest. She stood rooted to the ground as she watched Cloud continue on forwards.

"You mean…I've been stalking the principal's _son?!_"

* * *

**Welllll.....? What do you think so far? Kinda boring? Yes? No? I assure you it'll get more interesting as the story goes on! **

**Did I mention I am unconditionally and irrevocobaly in love with reviews? ;)**

**--Synchypnotic.**


	4. Chapter 4

**She's All That**

_A/N: Okay. Chapter four is up, though it was a bit rushed, so if there are any mistakes, or if it just sounds choppy, I do apologize. _

**Chapter Four**

Cloud lolled his head against the back of his seat. He turned towards the window, his eyes swarming over the glowing lamp posts that only appeared as bright flashes of yellow light as the car zoomed through the dark night. His fingers drummed against his knee and he shifted lower in his seat, feeling restless. He glanced to his left and sighed. Her gaze was unwavering as she stared out the windshield, her back stiff and straight and her pale hands clutched at the steering wheel. She had barely uttered a word since they left his grandmother's house. And to make matters worse, his phone's battery had died before they had even arrived in Nibelheim, leaving him completely unarmed against the horrible feeling that was boredom.

He groaned and hit his head against the seat, "Mom, it was just _one _detention," he sighed, "okay, so I was late to the first one so I got another…"

He stared at the roof for a minute before he heard her sigh, "It's not about how many times you had detention, Cloud," she glanced in the side view mirror before switching lanes, "I thought I made it clear that you weren't going to get into trouble this year."

Cloud sighed, "I didn't—"

"Cloud, this year is important, you _know_ that. How're you supposed to get accepted into the top universities if you keep fooling around like this?"

"Mom—"

"Honey, I know you can do better, you're a smart boy. But getting yourself into unnecessary dilemmas will only make it more difficult for you."

"Mom, you're making it sound as if I did some terrible crime. It was just _detention_, God. It's not like I got into a fight or anything like that…"

Mrs. Strife stiffened at that as she pursed her lips and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she muttered, sending him an icy glare.

Cloud sighed, "And I told you it won't happen again, so will you please just _ease up_ a little? _God_, why do all parents fret like the world's ending? "he groaned, shaking his head in disbelief when the blonde woman's lips quirked in amusement. "Besides, this is Highwind we're talking about, I'm telling you…he doesn't know _beans_ about English, God only knows why he's teaching it. I mean he gives us homework…_homework_ that I could finish during class in like –five minutes. Hell, I could even get Marlene to do it for me, it's that easy."

Mrs. Strife tipped her head back and laughed. Cloud inwardly relaxed as he watched her smile. He hated causing her disappointment. It was only a year ago when that fight had happened, and though it wasn't too serious, as to say, no one _died_, the mere involvement of the police was serious enough for her. He hadn't even known how a small quarrel between him and the other guy grew into something so huge. He didn't even remember what is was about, but he did remember the guy always managed to piss the living hell out of him. Fortunately, he hadn't seen him for quite some time…

"Oh, speaking of which, Eleanor needs to go out of town, so she'll be dropping Marlene off first thing in the morning tomorrow."

Cloud shrugged, "Okay. How long is she gone?"

"Just the weekend." She replied as the car exited the highway, making its way through the roads of Midgar.

After grabbing a small bite from the kitchen, Cloud resignedly trudged up the stairs and to his room. It was well past midnight by the time they had reached home and his mom had immediately retired for the night, she needed to get up early for work that morning. Luckily for Cloud, he didn't have to worry about school for another two days, God bless whoever invented the weekend…

The blond let out a tired yawn and stretched his arms before he plopping himself on his bed. To sleepy to worry about changing into his pajamas, he tugged his shirt off and blindly threw it across the room, slipping under the covers and drifting into a peaceful slumber within minutes.

---

The bright rays of the morning sun illuminated from behind her sheer curtains and hit Tifa square in the face. Sighing, she turned on her side and burrowed her head under the covers. At least on a Saturday, she could afford a couple extra hours of sleep. But a sudden _crash _and a few curses sounding from downstairs obviously proved her wrong. Her eyes snapped open as she lay in silence in an attempt to figure out what had just happened.

"Argh! You Goddamn son of a c_hicken!" _yelled a voice as more sounds of banging ensued.

Tifa quickly rolled out of bed, grabbed her glasses and thundered down the stairs and into the kitchen to find her father standing in front of the stove with his back towards her. His head was ducked and his arm was busily scraping at something.

"…Dad?"

Mr. Lockhart jumped at her voice and turned around, a spatula in him hands. "Good Morning!" he smiled tightly, "I uh," he picked up the pan on the stove and gave it an aggravated look before clearing his throat, "the egg is…stuck."

Tifa sent him a puzzled gaze. Her eyes widened when he turned the fry pan over towards her. A ruptured, dark brown substance had itself plastered all over the surface of the pan. The poor egg was practically pulverized.

Tifa heaved a sigh and folded her arms, "Did you leave it unattended?"

Mr. Lockhart scratched the back of his head, looking uncomfortable, "Uh—yeah, I kinda got lost in the game coming on…"

Shaking her head at his sheepish smile, she took the fry pan from his hand and made her way to the stove, shooing him away when he protested, assuring her that he could do it. In the end, he reluctantly gave in albeit secretly relieved and feeling rather pleased about getting the chance to watch television without any worries.

"Where's Denzel?" asked Tifa fifteen minutes later, as she set a plate of eggs on the table. Her dad grabbed the carton of orange juice from the refrigerator before sitting down.

"Oh, he's gone to soccer practice, said he'd be back by noon." Mr. Lockhart replied while he buttered his toast. "Say, Tifa?"

"Yes, Dad?" she asked as she poured herself a glass of juice.

"Have you ever thought about working?"

Tifa tilted her head in thought as she chewed. It wasn't like she _hadn't_; she knew getting accepted into a university meant paying an arm and leg for most people, and snagging a part time job could save her a lot of trouble in the near future, though the only drawback was her fear of falling behind in her studies.

"It might have crossed my mind," she shrugged.

"Hm, well you should give it a little more thought. If you're worried about slacking off in school, pick only a few days of the week to work, and besides, you're an A student, so I don't think you need to worry too much about falling behind."

"I'll think about it…"

"Not that it means you're on your own, financially speaking," he hastily added. "I just think the experience is important. I'll ask around at work, if anyone knows a place that's hiring. I mean, I could get you an hourly job at my place…but, I think it'd be better if you pick a place that you find interest in…"

That was sure, there was really no way she'd want to work at a furniture store, "Yeah…I'll look around, myself. I'll call Jessie and see if she can help."

Mr. Lockhart nodded and stood up, taking his plate and glass over to the sink. After he left the kitchen, Tifa quickly cleaned up before heading up for a shower. If she was going to get a part time job, she had to make sure she had everything under control. There was absolutely no time for fooling around, no slacking off. She had to prove to her herself that she could keep her responsibilities at home, at school, and work at equilibrium.

She picked up the cordless phone and dialed Jessie's number, cradling the phone between her shoulder and ear as she cleaned the glass sliding doors that lead to their backyard.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Tifa."

"Oh, hi, what's up?"

"Just cleaning the house…listen I have to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"My dad thinks I should get a job…to enhance my experiences or something, so…do you know any places that are hiring?"

"Hmm…well you can check on the internet, or in the job section in the newspaper. Hold on, let me check," Tifa heard the sound of fast typing as she waited, scrubbing at a tough mark on the glass. "There's a lot, I'll print it out and give it to you on Monday, how's that?"

"Thanks a lot, Jess,"

"No problem, Oh! Or even better…My dad's shop is running a little behind schedule…so maybe you can help out? I'll be there too and I'll teach you some really cool stuff!"

Tifa hesitated. "Uh, no thanks, I'm no computer geek…I'd probably slow down his business."

"Well, I said I'd teach you—"

"Uh—Jess, I gotta go, I'll call you later!" she quickly said as she shut the phone. She sighed; it was always a difficult task to turn down an offer from Jessie, only because she just wouldn't get it until you stated it rather bluntly. Shaking her head, she moved into the living room and began dusting the furniture.

---

The minute Marlene arrived she pounced on Cloud, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle as she squealed in delight. Cloud choked on a laugh, trying to pry her tiny arms off of him before they both fell over. After a quick greeting with Eleanor, and after she made Marlene promise to be a good girl while she was gone, she took off. Marlene tugged at Cloud's sleeve, pulling him down the hallway as she made herself feel at home. Cloud obliged as he picked up her small bag on the way.

So far, she had made him cook her breakfast, sit next to her as she watched her favorite tv show, play video games with her (he purposefully lost just to make her happy), and _then. Then_ she wanted him to draw her a picture of a flower. That nearly gave him a heart attack. Only because Cloud Strife could _not _draw even if his life depended on it…

Marlene crawled over his shoulder to peak and immediately fell over laughing.

Cloud sent her a glare before glancing back at his pitiful attempt at drawing flowers, "It's not that bad."

The small brunette rolled over as she clutched at her sides, trying to catch her breath, "They're _hideous!_" she cracked up again. "They look like _balloons!_"

"They do _not_."

"Do too!"

"Fine," he frowned and picked up his piece of paper, "If it's that bad, then I guess I'll just have to rip it in half." And as he made to, quite dramatically, rip his paper, Marlene scampered off the floor.

"Nooo!" she protested, snatching the drawing from his hands and pressing it possessively to her chest. "I want to keep it."

"But why? I thought my drawing's hideous."

"So?" she scoffed. "Doesn't mean I don't like it," she made her way to her bag laying by the couch and slipped the paper inside, "I'll tell everyone you made balloons…and then they'll think it's really good!" she grinned.

Cloud rolled his eyes, smiling in amusement . He watched Marlene skip over to where he sat on the ground and planted her hands on her hips. "So what now?" she asked.

"…Now?" the blond yawned and stretched, leaned against the couch and closed his eyes, "Now…we will take a nap."

"Clouud," she whined.

"…"

"Cloud!"

"…"

"Cloud…? Pleaaase get up?" she pulled on his arm. "I want to go outside, you can just sit and watch, you don't have to do anything, just pleaaaase don't go to sleep!"

Cloud sighed before snapping his eyes open and heaving himself off the ground. He patted her head and walked down the hall, "Let's go, Marnie poo."

"Eww stop calling me that!" she said as she quickly followed him, her brown hair flowing behind.

It was almost noon, now and Cloud sat on the steps to his porch as he watched Marlene run around collecting orange, red, and yellow leaves of different shapes and sizes. He sighed. Though he was quite fond of his niece, he really didn't want to spend the rest of his Saturday babysitting Marlene. He really hoped his mom would come home soon, so he could go out for the evening.

"Where is Zack?"

"Hm?" he looked up to see Marlene standing in front of him, holding a brown paper bag that was over flowing with colorful leaves. "Oh, he's gone out somewhere…with his girlfriend."

"Is she pretty?"

The blond shrugged one shoulder, "She's alright. Zack could do better, though."

"Do _you _have a girlfriend?"

He shook his head, "Nope."

"How come?"

Cloud put on his best sad face, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand, "Nobody likes me,"

The door to his right swung open, and his eyes shifted, watching as a brunette stepped out with a broom in her hand.

"What about her," Marlene asked, motioning towards Tifa, "Does she like you?"

Cloud smirked. "Tifa? Oh, yeah, she's just _crazy _about me." he said, loud and clear.

Tifa kept her eyes lowered to the ground as she swept the dust off the porch, "You wish." she muttered.

"See? Told you no one likes me…" she heard him say.

Yeah...okay. Ever since Zack Fair had officially started dating Scarlet Vaughn, Cloud had become one of the most sought after senior male students that were actually available. What girls –and some guys— wouldn't do to be noticed by those deep blue eyes. It was pathetic, really. She always failed to understand how just about _everyone _could go insane for the same person. Especially when the guy was a total jerk, too…

The pair was now standing by his front yard as Cloud scolded the girl when she wanted to throw all her leaves in the air. She did anyway, and had burst out laughing when most of them landed in Cloud's hair.

"Oh now you're in for it." He narrowed his eyes before chasing after her, as she scampered away screaming. It wasn't long before the blond grabbed her by the legs and flipped her upside down as he hauled her inside the house, ignoring her protests in between shrieks of laughter.

And as Tifa furtively watched the two, she couldn't help the sudden nostalgia brewing inside her. The sound of her laughter was just so sweet and melodious; it reminded her of someone she once knew…

---

"She's cute." Tifa murmured as she sat at his desk during English (Highwind had _again, _asked to share their grade two homework with the person behind you).

It took a moment for Cloud to process what she had meant, before he sneered, "Oh, so now you're jealous of Marlene."

Tifa gave him a dead look, before sighing and turning back to her homework. She felt Cloud lean in as he watched her.

"What." She really felt uncomfortable when people stared at her.

"You know…" he started, "Halloween's coming up soon."

She shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"Just saying…"

"…."

"So who're you going to dress up like?"

"No one."

"Oh. Well, that makes sense. You really don't need a costume…"

"I saw that one coming."

"So you think that too, don't you? At least we both agree on something."

"I hope kids throw eggs at you."

"I'd snatch those glasses from you but I'd get detention."

"I'd really punch you in the face but I'd get expelled."

"You don't get expelled by punching someone."

"Whatever. Suspended."

Cloud watched her in amusement. "Are you always like this?"

"Yes. I mean –No."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know."

"Why are you so grumpy all the time?"

"I'm not."

"Well, whenever _I _see you, you are."

"I wonder why that would be."

"I dunno, maybe you're envious of my good looks…"

"Or maybe it's cause you're just annoying."

"Perhaps," the blond shrugged, "but I'm gonna go with the first one.'

"Whatever." muttered Tifa as she flipped her homework sheet over.

Tifa sighed in relief when Highwind barked at them, demanding that they all return to their originals seats before he started his lesson. At least now they had finished with the rhyming lessons and were moving on to poetry, which was something closer to senior year material.

"Alright, listen up!" Cid smacked his ruler on his desk. "I've been goin' easy on all of ya…just cause yer all a bunch of lame ass morons who can't use yer heads fer crap! But now I ain't gonna do it. Nope. Ya'll need to grow the hell up and pull yer head out yer ass, y'hear me?!" he crossed his arms as he chewed on a black pen and pointed with his ruler towards the blackboard. "I've written a bunch of words here, copy em' and define each of em' for tomorrow!"

Tifa sighed. She could practically feel the students of room 302 silently grieving over Ms. Shera's prolonged absence…

---

"Here," Jessie handed her best friend the list of employment opportunities, complete with the location, contact information, and the position they were seeking. "I researched through most of them and highlighted the ones that were good," she added while scrolling through her phone.

"Wow, thanks," Tifa scanned the list as they walked down the busy halls afterschool. There were a lot of department stores that were hiring at the moment, as well as a few restaurants and a couple grocery stores. She'd have to make time after school some day, so she could submit her application. Her eyes caught a yellow-tinted line near the end of the page as she looked at her friend, raising her brows. "Barmaid?"

Jessie shrugged, "Well, they give you a pretty descent income. And then there's a lot of tips involved, too."

Tifa shook her head as she took out a pen and made to cross it out, "No thanks, I don't think that one's for me—_uff!_" A sudden push from behind had her tripping forward, ensuing more collisions with those in front of her. Quickly apologizing when a couple of girls sent her glares, she composed herself and kept on walking—only to be pushed again. She whirled around only to realize who it was.

Who else could it be, anyway?

She turned back around, mouth clamped shut as she pushed her glasses further up her nose.

Suddenly aware of her stiff posture, Jessie sent her a questioning gaze before noticing the blond behind them. Hazel eyes narrowed at him, "What is your prob—"

"Hey, that's an awesome phone you've got there," Cloud said, motioning towards the object in her hands.

Jessie blinked, "Really? Thanks!" she smiled, completely lost in the depths of his sparkling blue eyes.

"_Jessie!_" hissed Tifa as she swatted the smaller girl's arm before pulling her away from the crowd and towards their lockers.

"What?" asked Jessie, a dazed expression plastered onto her face.

Tifa groaned and rolled her eyes, as she swung open her locker, "Not you too." she muttered.

God, why couldn't anyone else see what she saw in Cloud?

Or better yet; what did everyone else see in him that she couldn't…?

* * *

**Oh, and I also apologize for not including Tifa and Cloud's detention scene, but the truth was...Cloud was late (really late), so by that time she had already left. And also, I know Cloud says Halloween is coming up soon...when in reality, it's actually today, but I wrote that part a while ago, so yeah, just trying to clear up any confusion. **

**Hope you liked it, reviews and feedback would be lovely!**

**--Synchypnotic. **


	5. Chapter 5

**She's All That**

_A/N: Chaapter 5! *Drum rolll, please!* Enjoy! _

**Chapter Five**

"Aw, man, it's _raining?!_" wailed Jessie, her feet coming to a sudden halt in front of the school doors. "I was supposed to walk home today!"

Tifa watched the rain drizzle down from the darkening sky as it came pouring against the glass doors. "Didn't you check the weather this morning?" she asked, not the least affected by her friend's complaining, or the fact that it _was _raining.

"Obviously not," muttered Jessie, quickly dialing a number and pressing the phone to her ear. Within a few moments, she flipped her phone shut and slid it in her pocket before releasing a satisfying sigh. "My sister's coming." she turned towards her friend, "Need a ride?"

Tifa shook her head, "My dad'll be here soon."

Cautiously, they stepped around the slippery tiles coated with slight smears of mud, making their way over to the large windows which stood on either side of the entrance. Jessie slumped against the cold glass as she let out a tired yawn, waving her hand across her face in an indolent manner.

"Ugh, it's only Monday!" she moaned, lightly bumping her head against the window and closed her eyes, "Feel's like Friday."

Tifa's eyes wandered absently over the crowds of students as they made their way out of the school. "You say that every day, Jess." She muttered.

"Well, it's true, you know."

A honk signaled the arrival of Jessie's ride after a few minutes, as she quickly bade Tifa goodbye and darted out the door, pulling her green hood over to shield herself from the dripping rain. Tifa looked around for her own ride, but there was no sign of her dad's tattered old car. It had been twenty minutes since school had ended; her dad hadn't showed up yet.

He hadn't said anything about being late, either…

"Gah! I don't know what to do! Tell me what to do!" a sudden frustrated and high-pitched tone invaded the brunette's thoughts. Her eyes lifted in curiosity and landed on Yuffie, who stomped her way towards the door, hands pulling tightly on the strings on the hood of her jacket.

"Oh, I don't know," came that sweet, so pleasantly musical, yet equally frustrated voice, "maybe…stop _stalking _him?" Aerith said breathlessly as she quickly trailed after her friend, delicate hands working to open her soft pink umbrella. Green eyes caught those of silent rubies and she sent the brunette a tender smile. Tifa sent her own small, hesitant smile but the pretty girl didn't notice. She had already rushed out the door.

The hallways had now cleared, and the laughter and howls and buzzing chatter of students had melted away with the pouring rain, and Tifa, standing miles away from it all in her small little corner of solitude, only just realized. She sighed and shifted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, then pushed on her sleeve to check on her watch. It was getting really late; she glanced through the smoggy window, and the rain didn't seem too keen on stopping, either, as it only came down harder. Her eyes glued to the misty cold glass, mindlessly watching as beads of water clung onto one another, slowly slipping and pooling at the bottom of the window ledge. She really should've just hitched a ride with Jessie…

"And just what are you doing out here so late, so alone, on this cold, rainy afternoon?"

Tifa turned her head and arched her brow, "What are you, a poet?"

Vincent shrugged, the corner of his lips tugging, "I try,"

She sighed, crossing her arms around her middle, "I'll have to give it to you, you're better than Highwind any day…"

He laughed as he dropped his black, worn skateboard to the floor, keeping it in place with his Converse clad foot, "He's that bad, huh?"

"You have no idea."

"Well, as much as I'd like to be your new English teacher, I can't" he said, "but I can always give a go at Shakespeare…" he suggested.

She almost snorted, "Please go kill yourself before you ever decide to grow a moustache."

"Aw, you don't think it'll suit me?"

Tifa shook her head, brows pinched together and lips pursed tightly to keep them from twitching at the sudden image of Vincent sporting a very manly, very hairy upper lip. She cleared her throat then, "Well, you could always make a career out of drawing bees…" she shrugged, "you're awfully good at it."

"Yeah," Vincent raised his brows and crossed his own arms, "and I should tell you, your picture of Cloud…_damn_, you must have stared at him for hours to get all that detail memorized, huh."

She glowered at him.

"Vincent," came a voice and crimson eyes darted to the source of sound and back towards Tifa, a sly smile forming at her bewildered expression.

"Speak of the devil," murmured the tall young man as none other than Cloud Strife, himself, strode his way over to the window.

"Cloud," he greeted the blond man and Tifa's eyes widened, switching from Cloud to Vincent, and back again. Wait…they knew each other…? Then, he must have told…_no. _No way, he wouldn't have. She stared at Vincent, desperate to get his attention. It didn't matter about the fact that she _despised _him, hell, he already knew that, but…if Cloud ever found out she _drew _a sketch of him…

He definitely wouldn't leave her alone…

Ever.

"Have you seen Zack…?" asked Cloud as he scratched the back of his head.

Vincent, trying his best to keep a straight face, scratched his own head and looked around, "Uh, yeah…I think he left a while ago, with some blonde chick." His eyes finally landed on Tifa's and the deadly glare she sent him, silently telling, no, _threatening_ him, was beyond comical. He could practically hear those cutting, sharp edged words shooting out from her fiery eyes.

_Don't. You. Dare. _

Cloud groaned as he pulled out his phone and began texting, shoving one hand in his pocket. "What are you doing here, anyway? School's been out since an hour or so…"

"Yeah I was just heading out," he began nonchalantly, "Just bumped into someone on the way…"

Cloud raised his eyes over, suddenly realizing who Vincent was referring to, as a wicked smile grew on his lips. He tilted his head to the side, "Ooh, so little Miss Lockhart isn't so anti-social after all,"

Tifa narrowed her eyes at the blond before returning her sharp gaze back to Vincent. The dark haired man zipped his black jacket up and grinned, "Well, I'm off," he eyed the brunette before winking and pulling his hood over his head, "Oh, and Cloud, you should probably give her a ride…she's been standing there since time…" and with that he hopped on his skateboard and kicked off through the doors.

"You need a ride…?" blue eyes turned back to her.

"I'm fine," she muttered.

He quirked a brow. "You sure?"

She shook her head, "My dad…should be here… soon."

"If you say so," he shrugged before moving towards the door and dashing out. Tifa watched from the window as he sprinted down the steps and made a left, disappearing through the parking lot. She rested her forehead against the cold glass. She didn't think her dad was coming…

The sky was getting darker by the minute now, and the bright, earth warming sun that she had witnessed in the morning had completely vanished beneath the thick layers of grey clouds. Sighing, she pushed away from the glass, rubbing her arms. She didn't even have an umbrella, let alone a coat or a sweater. Even so, she couldn't stay inside the school till the rain ceased, God only knew how long that would take.

_There's only one way to settle this…._

Sucking in a breath, she braced herself before pushing through the door.

---

Soft, warm air collided with his pale hands, gently coaxing the bitter cold of the rain from under his skin. He sat there, slumped in the driver's seat, listening to the continuous spatter of water against his windshield until he could feel the flow of blood coursing through his fingers, his ears, and his cheeks.

With a soft grunt, he leaned forwards and started the engine with a twist of his keys and a low, almost inaudible rumble sounded from beneath as he reversed the car and drove it out the parking lot, exiting the grounds of his school. A hand loosely held onto the steering wheel as he fumbled with the pocket of his jeans, pulling out his phone.

He glanced down a couple times before sighing and dropping the phone in his lap. It really wasn't his place to say anything, wasn't any of his business, but he couldn't stand it, couldn't stand _her._ Because of her, Zack was already falling behind and missing out, not only in school, but in extracurricular matters as well as his social life. Almost _every _time, Cloud and his friends made plans to go out, Zack just couldn't. Because of _her_.

It was like that stupid blonde bimbo _owned _him and had him wrapped around her finger or had him on an _almost _excruciating and electrifying leash or _something._ It was awfully pathetic. Couldn't Zack just say, no Scarlet, I can't go out with you tonight, and you know what? I'm done with you and your fucked up shit. I've had enough of your bullcrap and it's about time I take back control of my goddamn life because you're just another skank who's cutting me off from what I love most(my best friend, Cloud!).Couldn't he? Couldn't he say _something _along those lines?

Whatever happened to bros before hoes, an—

The breaks sounded suddenly and his car came to a complete halt. Blue eyes peered through the smoggy, rain spattered window before he sighed, shaking his head. He called out to her as he rolled the window down.

"Oi!" he shouted at the hunched and stiff brunette, "Tifa!"

She looked up and glanced around before her eyes fell on him, seated in the confines of his silver car, all nice and warm and _comfortable. _She stood on the sidewalk, watching in envy as the rain mercilessly showered her with freezing water.

She blinked the rain away from her eyes, squinting to see through her fogged lens as she tightened her hold against her middle. "What?"

"Get in!"

"What?" she asked.

Cloud rolled his eyes before repeating, slowly, "Get. In. I'll drop you,"

She shook her head, even though the offer was pretty tempting, but who knew, maybe as soon she'd reach his car, he'd drive off, snickering at how ridiculously gullible she was…. "No thanks, I'm fine."

"Are you out of your mind? You're _wet_, you'll catch pneumonia!"

"I won't. It's okay. I'll probably ruin your seat anyway."

"Tifa—" he closed his eyes, "Just get in the car."

The drenched brunette silently watched him, searching his eyes for a sudden flicker of humor or mirth or mischief, but all she could see was a bottomless, earnest, deep blue. Sighing, she dropped her trembling hands to her sides and dragged her feet over to his car before yanking the door open and carefully seating herself.

The wheels began turning as soon as she shut the door, "I thought your dad was coming?" asked Cloud as he stared ahead.

"I guess he forgot," her voice lightly quivered and Cloud glanced sideways, noticing her shivering form and the way she sat stiffly close to the door. Her arms wound tightly around each other and he could hear the faint chatter of teeth, even if he knew she was trying her best to keep herself from making it obvious.

Keeping one hand situated on the steering wheel, he leaned back, twisting his middle as he stretched an arm behind his seat and grabbed a dark blue fleece blanket before tossing it over Tifa's head.

"Here," he muttered and Tifa slightly jumped before pulling the fabric tighter against her body.

"Thanks…" she mumbled and Cloud shrugged.

It would have been an awkward silence had it not been for the soft hum of pouring rain and the rhythmic sound of wipers against the windshield. Cloud kept his eyes on the road and Tifa looked the other way, concentrating on anything other than him or the rain or the fact that she was soaking wet from head to toe. At least the heater was helping a little, and the blanket, too. It was soft and it kept her warm...

"You used to love the rain," murmured Cloud after a few moments.

Tifa stiffened and her eyes moved as they slowly drifted towards him. He looked somewhat funny with his hair like that, blond strands gone limp and damp and sticky against his pale skin…his eyelashes were darker than usual as they clung to one another and it was fun watching the upper and lower lashes collide every time he blinked…

It was true, she loved the rain…once upon a time. When the skies were bright, and the sun shined and flourished her with happy smiles and colorful rainbows…and even when it rained, she'd still be laughing, and she'd run, shoes and coat forgotten, pushing through the door as the rain welcomed her with open arms, bathing her in the content feeling of water against skin, of something wild and innocent and _free_...

But now the water was just cold.

And that girl…she had gone and it had been too, too long, and too _strange _to look back…

His eyes flickered to hers, and she turned away, staring out the window as he drove down their street and finally slowed down and pulled up in his driveway.

But she couldn't help thinking…

He remembered…?

His hands pulled the keys out, immediately cutting off the sound of the engine along with the heater and wipers.

And so they were embraced with the art of awkward silence once again…

Tifa fidgeted, "I…um," her lips parted, wanting to say something, knowing that she _should _say something, but, hell it was harder than she thought.

"You're welcome."

She looked up to see his gaze fully set on her and her eyes fell onto the small tug of his lips. It was weird, almost unbelievable. She hadn't expected him to be so…_nice._ Her brows furrowed and she cleared her throat as she looked down at the soft blanket around her, not sure if she should give it back now, or…

"Give it back later."

Damnit, how did he keep doing that?!

He was openly smiling now, amused with himself. Tifa resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she turned her head, reaching for the door handle and pulled. She blinked when it didn't budge. The car was unlocked, though…

She tried again and when it didn't open, she glanced questioningly at the blond.

"Oh, shit. It's on child lock…" he muttered, eyeing the door with displeasure. He had changed the settings when he took Marlene out to some toy shop and had forgotten to change it back.

"Could…you open the door for me, then?"

Cloud clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "I'd rather not get wet again, I gotta go to work." He saw her frown as she glanced at the back doors, "those have child locks on them, too." She huffed and stared at him, as if asking him what his idea of a solution was.

He motioned towards his door, "You could go from here, only," and as she noticed the impish smile that threatened to spill across his lips, she found herself dreading what was to come, "I'm not moving."

She gaped at him, "you're kidding."

"Nope."

"And how, exactly, am I supposed to get out without you moving?" she asked incredulously.

"I don't know," he leaned back and tilted his head towards her, "use your imagination."

Tifa narrowed her eyes and set her jaw before tightening the blanket around her body and lifting herself off the seat. Bending her head she crouched over as she cautiously stepped over, deliberately avoiding his gaze.

There wasn't much room between the steering wheel and his legs and she was sure just walking straight through would cause her to topple over him. She needed to turn on her side…

She felt the heat creep up her neck as she frowned. Shoving all thoughts warning her of how inappropriate her position may look out of the way as she turned and sidestepped in between Cloud's legs, bracing her hand against the steering wheel and the window. She could feel his eyes on her back, could hear the silent humor she knew he was trying so hard to keep inside before he burst…

She _really _wanted to punch him right now.

Just then she felt his breath on her skin, and her eyes froze at the sudden change in temperature and even though they were not touching in any way, why did it feel so oddly intimate…?

"Don't dirty my shoes, now," he murmured, voice awfully low and faint. Tifa shut her eyes and bit her lips, quickly grasping the door handle and yanking it open. She grabbed her bag and hauled herself out the car.

"Ow!" her bag, _accidentally_, collided with Cloud's skull as her feet landed on the pavement and cold drops of water pattered heavily against her own. She turned towards her driveway to see it was empty.

He probably got caught in a meeting of some sort…

"What was that for?!" she blinked and noticed Cloud standing beside her, rubbing at his head. "You'd think a girl would kiss you after taking her home…"

She gasped as eyes widened and then narrowed, and before she knew it she shoved her hands against his chest, catching him off guard, "I thought you said you didn't want to get wet?!" she yelled.

His fingers curled around her wrists, "Woah, relax there, Lockhart! And you actually believed me?" he snickered, "Did I ever tell you how fun it is to watch you struggle? No? I didn't?"

The brunette growled as she tried to smack him, but he only tightened his hold on her. "I hate you!"

Cloud rolled his eyes and let go of her, turning to grab his own bag from inside, "Please, you love me."

Tifa ignored him and returned her gaze back to her house, wondering if Denzel was home, he hadn't taken his bike to school that morning, so he probably had to walk home.

She heard him sigh, "Don't tell me I have to let you into my house because you don't have your keys…"

" I _have_ my keys," she muttered as she scowled at him.

He stared at her for a moment and Tifa's eyes flew to the sky, watching the grey clouds float about the dull sky, "What." She sighed.

"You should really think about installing mini wipers on your glasses," he spoke and Tifa's eyes narrowed for the umpteenth time, "I swear you could make a whole new fashion statement with it, wow –I can picture it all," he waved his hand slowly, "Tifa Lockhart with the hot new snazzy wiper glasses." He grinned, raising his brows at her, "What d'you think? Sounds pretty flashy."

Sighing, and rolling her eyes, she turned on her heel, not bothering to reply, as she made her way to her porch.

Was there really any point in arguing with him?

Frankly, right now, she didn't care. Right now, she was cold and her hair was wet and dirty and tangled, and her pants were damp and clinging to her thighs, and her glasses were fogged and her feet were soggy and everything just wasn't going _right. _

Right now, she was in _desperate _need of a warm shower followed by a nice, hot cup of coffee.

* * *

**Thank you so much to all those who have reviewed my story so far! It really means a lot! :)**

**--Synchypnotic. **


	6. Chapter 6

**She's All That**

_A/N: Wow, it's been more than a month since I last updated!...Sorry! But I suffer from this disorder...um,it's called Writer's Block. Boo Hoo. I know that's not a good enough excuse, because almost _everyone _suffers from it at some point, but I honestly don't know why it took me this long to put together this chapter, even though I had everything planned out. But what I mean to say is I am truly sorry for the long wait! ...I don't think I will ever be fully satisfied with anything I write, so I just went ahead and sumbitted this today, before I get second thoughts and rewrite the whole thing! This one's a little longer than usual, but I really hope you enjoy it. Happy holidays, everyone! :)_

**Chapter Six**

Lunch hour was busy as usual, with loud, obnoxious teenagers chasing each other around and chucking food at one another as they caused unnecessary havoc. Tifa's heart jumped as her tray of food nearly toppled over when a careless redhead stumbled quite precariously past her. Eyes closed for a second before she glanced at Jessie who stood behind her, hands also holding onto a tray of food.

Jessie rolled her eyes and presumed walking, "Guys are so stupid. Come on, let find a seat."

After a few minutes of searching and weaving through occupied chairs and littered tables, an empty table, save for Yuffie, who sat sprawled on two chairs on the far end, caught Tifa's attention.

"Only two periods so far, and I've got two journals to write and an assignment due Thursday," grumbled Jessie once they were seated. "What about you? Got any homework?"

Tifa shook her head as she nibbled on a french fry, "Finished everything during class. I've got chores to do after school and then I gotta start giving in my applications for my job…"

"Oh, right…I forgot about that."

"Yeah, plus…I'm thinking of dropping French. I honestly have _no _idea what I'm doing there… and I could use an extra period to study."

"Hm," nodded Jessie as she chewed and swallowed, "That's actually a pretty good idea…you'll have less of a load to worry about. I wish I could do that…but I need all my courses." she finished dully.

The rest of their lunch went normally, despite the racket- they had learned over the years to overlook such nuisances- as they slowly ate their food and chatted about nothing that would be considered out of the ordinary. It wasn't until Tifa's eyes caught sight of bright blond hair that a small piece of carrot decided to inharmoniously attack her throat.

"Hey! Are you alright?!" Jessie's eyes widened in alarm and she stared at her coughing friend. Tifa nodded weakly as she patted her chest, immediately helping herself to a gulp of water. Eyes followed the blond as he made his way over to a group of guys. In an instant, to her utter horror, the events of the previous day came rushing back…

_Their exceedingly close proximity…and even if they were not touching in anyway, she felt like every part of her tingled with something she couldn't put her finger on…And the heat, damnit, the heat…! With his lips inches away from her neck…His breath was intoxicatingly warm against her cold skin-_

"Are you blushing?"

_Huh?!_

"What?" blinked Tifa, eyes focusing on her friend.

"Blushing." Repeated Jessie, "You're red."

"N-no, I'm not," her fingers fiddled with her frames as she stared down at the table.

There was no way she could be blushing…well not because of _that._ Definitely not.

_It couldn't be that…_

She was just embarrassed. Yeah. Of course. She had every right to be embarrassed.

That bastard.

"It's probably from the coughing," she quickly reassured, as she took another sip of water, though she nearly choked on it when she heard his voice right behind her.

---

"Where's Zack?" blue eyes scanned the rows of tables for a tall raven haired guy as he made his way over to Yuffie.

"…Do you like have this crazy, unconditional obsession with Zack? Every time I see you, you're looking for Zack. Zack, Zack, Zack, _Zack_. Can't you be like, 'Hi Yuffie! Where's Yuffie? I _miss_ Yuffie! I mean you're awesomely awesome and super cool, but _boy, _do the rumors about you being gay seem _awfully_ true at times!" Yuffie snickered as she crossed her legs on her chair and rested her hands against her cheeks.

"What?!" his voice cracked.

"'Tis true." the Wutain nodded enthusiastically, "Girl's think you're G A Y." she smirked as she spelled out the word, "I personally don't blame them…"

Before Cloud could retort he found himself being pulled in a tight headlock, "What's that, Yuffie?" asked Zack, ignoring Cloud's curses as he struggled to break free.

"Cloud's gay for you." replied the short girl as she doodled on her binder.

"Woaho! Cloud? Didn't expect that from you!"

"Shut up, I'm not gay!" muttered Cloud as he finally pushed his way from Zack's grasp, rolling his eyes as he sunk into the chair next to Yuffie

"So." Zack grinned, waggling his brows as he slid in to the seat in front of the two. "What is it about me that you just can't…_resist_?"

"Must be your eyes," interjected Yuffie. Cloud scowled as he shoved her arm.

"Screw you, Yuffie. I don't swing that way." He snapped.

"Aw, it's alright Cloudie poo, no need to be embarrassed about being gay."

"Who's gay?" came a heavily sugared voice, and Cloud didn't need to look up to know who it was.

"Your mom." answered Cloud as she slid onto his best friend's lap. Scarlet flipped her hair and narrowed her eyes at him but otherwise ignored him and Yuffie's very unfeminine snort.

"So, dinner tonight?" purred Scarlet as she dragged red nails down Zack's chest.

"Uh- no?" Cloud cut her off, "Zack and I've got plans."

"Oh? We do?" blinked Zack.

"Sure…" a slow, sly smile tugged at his lips as he eyed Scarlet. Hell, if girls thought he was gay, why not go along with it, at least they'd get off his back…and as a bonus, he'd get the pleasure of getting on Scarlet's nerves and annoy the hell out of her. "Think of it…as a date_._"

Zack's eyes widen slightly before a manic smile appeared on his handsome face. He turned to the girl in his lap, "Sorry, babe, looks like I'm busy tonight."

Thinly shaped eyebrows rose as her pale blue eyes stared at her boyfriend, "Excuse me?"

"I knew you were dumb, but God, didn't know you were deaf." muttered Cloud, "he said he's busy."

"Okay, _what _is your problem?" Scarlet sharply turned to face the blond. "You're lucky enough I put up with your bullshit only because you're Zack's best friend. But you're getting on my fucking nerves and it's pissing me off—"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Zack interrupted, "Cut it out, you two. Scarlet, calm down, you know he doesn't mean it."

"Actually, I do." Drawled Cloud but closed his mouth when Zack glared his way.

"Whatever. Such a waste of my time, anyway" she swiftly stood up before turning her head, "coming, Zack?"

"Yeah," he sent Cloud another warning look before he too stood up.

Cloud only smiled, "Uh- Call me!" he said as he gestured with his hand and batted his eyelashes when Zack looked back.

Zack grinned and winked before he quickened his pace to catch up with Scarlet.

"I'll be waiting!" Cloud called after him.

Yuffie leaned in and let out a low whistle, "If that's not gay, I don't know what is."

"Shut it, shrimp." Blue eyes narrowed and slung his arm around her neck, tugging her close. He quickly pulled away, though, and stared at her. "Do girls seriously think I'm gay?" he abruptly asked.

The look on his face nearly had Yuffie burst out laughing, "_I _don't think you are, not sure about others," she shrugged.

Cloud squinted his eyes and looked away as he chewed his lip.

She patted his arm, "They're just rumors…who cares."

"…Yeah."

Maybe it did bother him a little, he thought, as he idly watched Tifa as she cleaned her glasses with a napkin. But then again, why bother fretting over some loose and silly gossip that really didn't have much of a foundation to it. Why couldn't girls be more like Tifa? If girl's minded their own business and weren't so hysterical all the time…wouldn't the world be a better place? Wouldn't there be fewer wars? Wouldn't the world be at peace?

Most definitely.

That's what he thought, anyway.

"Oh crap!" Yuffie suddenly said as she clutched onto his arm. "Mega-Whore's back!"

Her words hadn't even fully registered when he caught sight of Scarlet stomping her way back towards them. Cloud gazed questioningly at Yuffie, who only shrugged innocently, before returning eyes back to the fuming blonde in front of them.

"Alright you little twerp. Give me back my keys." Her pale eyes flashed and her hands found their place on her hips, and though most girls didn't dare cross the line with the most popular girl in school, Yuffie Kisaragi wasn't one of them.

The short haired girl blinked in surprise as she leaned her arms on the table. "What?" she asked baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"My keys." bit out Scarlet as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "You know, those metal objects you use to unlock doors?"

"Wow! You're getting smarter each day, I'm impressed!" grinned Yuffie. "I mean, really, I had _no _idea whatso_ever _what keys were…_honestly_!"

Scarlet's eyes narrowed to slits, "Was that supposed to be funny?"

Yuffie rested her face against her arms as she smiled impishly and shook her head, "Not exactly. See, there's really no need to be funny, not when you're standing in front of me. You're plastic face is all the entertainment I need. It's fantastic!"

Scarlet rolled her eyes, "Cut the small talk and give me the damn keys."

"I don't have them!"

"Keys." Scarlet closed her eyes and stretched her hand out towards Yuffie.

"Don't have them." Chanted Yuffie.

"_Keys._"

"Seriously? Are you that dumb? I just said I didn't take them!"

Scarlet huffed before drawing in a deep breath as a tight, clenched smile tugged at her lips, "Yuffie," she gritted her teeth, "I know you have them, and I will kick your puny little ass if you don't—Ew. What are you looking at?"her tone suddenly switched to one of disgust and Yuffie and Cloud followed her gaze to find it set on Tifa, sitting on the other end of the table.

The brunette muttered a quick "nothing" before looking the other way.

"Yeah. That's what I thought. Ugh, she makes me want to puke. What's with hair? She _definitely _needs to see a fashion consultant. _Anyway,_" The blonde turned her attention back to Yuffie and Cloud. "_as_ I was saying. Yuffie. Give me my—"

"She said she doesn't have your fucking keys," Cloud rolled his eyes. "Why don't you try retracing your steps and leave us the hell alone?"

It wasn't until Scarlet swore and finally stomped away, Yuffie covered a hand over her lips innocently as her eyes met Cloud's suspicious ones.

"Oops," she said as she pulled out a silver keychain, that clearly spelled out S C A R L E T out from her pocket. "How did these get here?!" she asked herself.

Cloud wasn't sure if he should laugh and thump her proudly on the back or roll his eyes, but he knew one thing for sure, despite their friendship, Yuffie was much too cunning, clever, and skilled in the art of thievery for him to completely let his guard down around her.

"Come on!" she said excitedly as she jingled the keys in his face, "Let's take it for a joy ride, that slut will never know!" Cloud chose to respond with raised brows, and a look that unmistakably claimed to say she was literally a crazy chick with a creepy way of satisfying her thirst for fun and entertainment, and that there was no way he was tagging along as a sidekick of hers.

She stuck her tongue at him, "Spoil sport!" she tucked the keys back into her pocket and hopped off her seat, dusted off her shorts and adjusted the bandana tied underneath her bangs. "I'll drag Reno with me, he's too thick to say no to me, anyway," she grinned at him, "Cause ninja's like Yuffie Kisaragi are the sexxxx! Boo ya!"

Cloud rested his palm against his cheek, and nodded unenthusiastically before yawning as he watched his short, trippy little friend skip her way out the cafeteria. He sat alone for a few minutes, idly letting his eyes sweep over the crowded cafeteria and listening to the echo of voices bouncing off the walls, until his eyes shifted over to the brunette sitting on his table. She was alone, he figured her computer-geeky friend ditched her sometime earlier, as she silently concentrated on a novel held in both hands. A crumpled piece of paper near his arm caught his attention and he smirked before hurling it at her head. Her head snapped up, expressions disgruntled as she looked around for the culprit before her eyes landed on him. He smiled and waved and she rolled her eyes and slammed her book shut, slid off her seat and sauntered out the room.

He chuckled to himself before he, too, got up and left.

---

It was late afternoon when Tifa stepped out her door and grabbed the rake leaning in the corner of her porch. The crisp leaves that flew and littered themselves around her yard were becoming ridiculously large each day, and Tifa could no longer push the job further down her agenda. With a few large paper bags in her hand, she dragged the rake down towards her driveway and immediately got to work.

It wasn't even fifteen minutes in when the sound of a door swinging open caught her attention, and as she looked up, it wasn't a surprise to see Cloud walking out with his own rake in hand. The Strife's yard didn't look any better than the Lockhart's'. Tifa only wished he wouldn't try talking to her, much less even notice she was there…

She held her breath for a moment before…

Wish granted!

…Who would have thought?

No, Cloud didn't talk to her. No, he didn't even notice her.

Or if he did, he ignored her.

She should have wished for something else, Tifa thought to herself as she knelt down and reached for a paper bag. But just as she began stuffing a handful of leaves inside, the sound of crunching leaves and upbeat music made way to her senses, and then she felt a fluttering light weight of autumn leaves tumbling over her head.

With a small gasp, she sharply turned head to see the blond carelessly tossing the leaves over to her driveway as he bobbed his head and sang along to his music. She watched, eyes wide in disbelief as he strolled down the driveway, leisurely shoveling leaves onto her side as if he was playing _ping pong_.

What in the world…!

And just as quickly he came, he began leaving, swinging the rake back and forth as he jogged up on to his porch and disappeared inside.

The sharp click of the door snapped the brunette out of her frozen stature and she immediately pushed herself to stand before crossing yards. She marched towards his door, eyebrows pinched and teeth ground together.

That _idiot_. Who in the _world _did he think he _was_?!

She hated him! She hated how he thought he could do anything and just _get away _with it. She hated his stupid guts and his cocky demeanor and oh, _how_ she just wished she could rip it apart with her bare hands and whack his stupid blond head!

Tifa lifted her fist to bang at his door, only for her tightly wound fingers to come to an abrupt halt just inches away from the wooden surface. She stood like that for a few moments, lips pursed tightly and her fist jerked back and forth in contemplation. Eventually her hand dropped to her side as a deep sigh left her lips.

What use was it, anyway? She thought, as she turned on her heel, she knew it was much more practical and less time consuming _and _less brain wracking if she pick up the leaves than partake an extremely pointless and annoying conversation with Cloud.

With a small groan, she snatched up the rake and began pulling at the leaves to bring them close together. Though needless to say, something unfortunate _always_ made it a point to stick its ugly rear into her business. She watched in dismay as a sudden breeze of cold air rushed by, startling the pile of leaves as they scuttled unceremoniously across the yard.

It was also very much, _needless_ to say, that luck had never really been on her side to begin with.

---

He really didn't know how anyone as serious as Tifa could be so absurdly funny, he thought as he watched from the kitchen window, casually munching on an apple. The wind was picking up again and Cloud wasn't sure if this was the third or fourth time she had to reclaim the leaves littered all around her. He'd been watching in amusement at her flustered form as she ran around with the rake clutched tightly in both her hands, and though part of him would've rather stayed beside the window and enjoy this rare sight of humor, he couldn't ignore the small, sympathetic voice echoing in his head.

He shook his head and breathed a small laugh as he discarded the remains of the apple and walked out.

The slight chilly wind breezed through his hair and he pulled his hood over, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Feet came to a stop just behind her, and he stood there for a moment, wordlessly watching the constant dip of her head as she concentrated on the ground. He slightly leaned over her shoulder as the corner of his lips turned up.

"Need any help?"

She jumped and whipped around to face him, "You!" her eyes were wide and angry, and her lips parted a couple of times, before clamping shut. "Go away." she finally muttered as she turned back.

"Believe me, I don't want to be here as much as you don't want to see my face, only you look like you might need a bit of…assistance," he shrugged. And then he added as an afterthought "Although, I can't fathom why you wouldn't want to see my face, it's quite the masterpiece y'know?"

"Go away."

"Okay fine, I'll shut up. But you really look like you need a hand."

"And you're really a gentleman with a great big heart, just _waiting _to help a girl out, right?"

The blond raised his brows in surprise, "Hey, how'd you know?!"

Tifa frowned as she continued on with her work before muttering again, "Well, _thanks_ for your concern but I can do this myself."

He scoffed, "Clearly you seem to be having a bit of a problem,"

"_Clearly,_ you'll cause more problems, so I'd really appreciate it if you leave." She said as she dropped the rake to the ground, stepped over and bent down to grab one of the empty bags. Cloud rolled his eyes as he stretched an arm out and snatched the bag from her hands.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, and in an attempt to reach across, she lost her footing. Instead of landing on the ground beneath, her foot met the protruding portion of the rake, and without prior notice, the rod swung upwards and knocked Cloud directly in his face.

"Umf!"

"Oh!" gasped Tifa and quickly stepped towards him as a hand covered her mouth, "I'm sorry!"

Cloud rubbed his face and groaned, "You imbecile."

"It was an accident!" she defended. She bit her lip as she watched his hand slip away from his face. The rod must have poked him in his right eye, as it was slightly red and watery, though otherwise no injuries seemed prominent.

It took a few blinks to clear his vision, but then blue eyes narrowed and set unwavering on the brunette. "Loser," he muttered.

"Hey, I didn't ask you to come and help." she retorted and folded her arms together.

"Ohh, so now it's my fault that you're graceless?" he asked.

Tifa rolled her eyes, "If you hadn't been here in the _first _place, none of this would have happened, anyway."

"Still doesn't change the fact that you're clumsy as shit." he muttered.

"Shut up," she sighed as she grabbed the blameworthy object from the ground. There was still a lot more leaves to shovel up, and if she didn't pick up the pace she'd be sweeping the ground all night.

As she made to sweep a few more leaves towards the large pile, which –thankfully— was not flown away by the wind, Cloud stepped closer.

"Here, give me the rake." he offered, and upon seeing her distrust, he rolled his eyes, "Geez, a guys trying to help you, at least cut him some slack for now." She arched a brow but he pressed on, "Come on, you know you need my help. Take it while I'm still offering, I don't plan on standing here the whole night."

Ruby eyes narrowed, before she closed her eyes and sighed, finally handing him the rake.

"Hold the bag open for me," he said to her as he quickly began making another pile. It took almost an hour for the two to collect all the leaves and wrap them away in bags, though it probably took longer because of their constant bickering and disagreements. And to make things worse, Cloud had pushed her into a pile of leaves at one point and found it _so_ funny. That didn't do much to resolve Tifa's foul mood.

The grass was cool against his legs as Cloud sat down. He let out a loud yawn and purposely stretched his arms far enough to collide into Tifa, who now sat not too far away from him. She shot him a look before pointedly looking the other way. He watched her for a while longer before scooting closer. He extended an arm, his hand slowly and cautiously reaching for her nerdy glasses—

"What!" she yelled as she smacked his arm and turned her body towards him, continuing her assault as she punched his arm with both her fists, "You are so ANNOYING!"

Even if her blows were meant to hurt, he couldn't help but laugh at her actions. He lifted a hand and tugged one of braids, "I'm just playing with you, stupid."

She huffed in response and returned to her original position, circling arms around her knees. She wanted to hit him a little more, get all her frustration out, maybe pull his hair out and kick him a few more times. She wanted to yell at him, tell him that he was a hand full and she didn't understand him at _all_ because one minute he'd annoy the hell out of her…and then he'd smile…and tell her he didn't mean it.

That he was just _playing with her. _What was that supposed to mean, anyway?

"Why?" her voice held her frustration and she stared at the ground in front of her, tugging blades of grass from under.

"Why what?" he asked.

"...Why do you…" her brows furrowed, it was awkward to ask him such a question...but she did, regardless, "do whatever you do…with me?"

"Why I like to get on your nerves…?" he asked as he cocked his head to the side, eyes soaking in the cloudless sky as he thought for a minute, "I…don't know. Maybe…" his gaze then flickered to her.

He could have said a lot of things then, as he sat next to her, the girl who used to be so much more than the ordinary girl next door. He could have told her that even when she thought no one had noticed, he _did._ He could have told her that even when he noticed, he didn't know, didn't think it was _his_ place to say anything.

It was almost overwhelming to see someone who he, at one point, envied and perhaps even loathed, have her world shattered in a heartbeat. And as he thought to himself, he really didn't have answer for her question…

Maybe it was because sometimes, _unknowingly,_ it bothered him to see the dullness in eyes that once sparkled with life. It bothered him to hear the absence of laughter in her voice and it bothered him, truly upset him because he hadn't seen that bright, sunlit smile in what felt like ages.

Maybe it was because he was so tired of seeing her this way that he wanted to _do _something, shake her or even _break _something inside her and make her _feel_ something. And it always worked, he thought, as he smirked inwardly, he always made her feel something when he got on her nerves, be it the only emotion he ever got out of her…at least it brought back the glint in her eyes, even if it was just for a while…

Or maybe…

Maybe he did it because he didn't understand why he even _cared _to begin with. It wasn't like they were friends. In fact, he couldn't remember any moment they shared together during their childhood years that could have been considered even the slightest friendly…

Maybe on her part, but never his…

Cloud never gave her an honest answer then, but only smirked and told her that she should feel special that he liked teasing her, let alone so much as glance her way. He swiftly got up and made an excuse before walking back over to his house, partly because he felt the awkwardness hanging in the air and knew Tifa was just waiting for him to leave so she can run inside and hide herself from the face of the planet for a few decades.

And then again, it was partly because he hated those thoughts running through his mind and just wanted the voices in his head to go away.

He hated thinking deep.

---

The night was cold.

The chilly wind assaulted her skin and she pulled her jacket closer around her face. Her icy fingertips slid over the slightly crumpled paper, rolling it open as her eyes roamed down the list, mentally crossing out the lines one by one, it was too cold to use her pen. Nonetheless, every location she went to, they denied her application, claiming that their staff was rather full at the moment, hence why they weren't hiring any more. Either Jessie printed out the wrong information or her luck was _extremely _bad…

She sighed and trudged down the sidewalk, with dimly lit streetlights leading her way and vehicle lights flashing her way as they turned down the alleyway. She checked her watch before deciding that it was late enough and needed to find a phone booth to call her dad.

She crossed streets, wandering near a slightly rundown plaza but there was no sign of a booth anywhere. She remembered her dad advising her to get a cell phone, especially after he forgot to pick her up afterschool that rainy day. It turned out Mr. Lockhart didn't get caught up in a meeting at work; however he _did _get caught up in a lengthy conversation with Denzel's school principal regarding his disobedient behavior. She agreed, it was probably best that she get a phone, but then again, she decided she'd buy one once she started working, that way she could pay for her own bills and save him some trouble.

The sound of glass clinking against her feet snapped her out of her thoughts and she realized it was much darker than it was a few moments ago…

She could hear more glass-clinking, faintly this time. It was coming from inside. She looked around and her eyes caught something glinting in the corner. She squinted her eyes to make out more glass…bottles. There were lots of them, stored securely in small crates. Lots of crates, all neatly stacked against a worn fence.

…How did she get here? She must have lost track of where she was heading.

A booming laugh made her heart jump and she whipped around, eyeing the old wooden door. It was getting louder and Tifa knew she had to get away fast.

She gave a small yelp when her foot trampled on an empty bottle, and before she knew it, she lost her balance and collided into one of the crates.

She watched in slow motion, as it tilted over and she cringed when it crashed to the ground.

The door immediately swung open.

"Alright, who's been stealin' my booze?!"

* * *

**Okay, I'd like to make sure everyone knows that Cloud is _not_ homosexual...in case some people took it the wrong way! Also, one thing that held me back this chapter was Scarlet's character...I'm not too happy with it, I feel she's not mean and "bitchy" enough...what do you guys think? I hope Cloud's thoughts after their (very short) talk added depth to the picture, and hopefully it answered some questions...and maybe even arise a few more. What can I say...Cloud was a confused little boy who couldn't sort out his feelings. Things will start making more sense soon enough! Thanks for reading, please review!**

**--Synchypnotic.**


	7. Chapter 7

**She's All That **

_A/N: Hi all! I'm back with another chapter! But before you start reading, I think I forgot to make something clear from the previous chapter, regarding Cloud and his rumor, lol. It's probably obvious, or if it wasn't, whatever, I'll still explain: Basically, a couple of girls decided to start a rumor about him being gay because he ignores all the girls that hit on him. Yup, they have no life. Simple..and silly, I know. But yeah! If you haven't noticed already, my chapters keep getting longer and longer! I tried to tone it down, but I've got so much to write -____-. Anyway, things are starting to get interesting, so without further ado, please continue reading and enjoy!! :)_

**Chapter 7**

It was times like this Tifa cursed her unbelievably terrible luck to a great extent. How she had ended up in that dark and shady corner was beyond her knowledge. As if that wasn't enough trouble, her curiosity got the better of her as crates full of alcohol caught her attention.

And then she had to trip.

Of all things that a girl could do in an uncertain situation, she decided to _trip._ Over a stupid glass bottle, too.

How she wished she could take said bottle and crash it upon her head. Though that was a little difficult at the moment, judging by the tight, heart sinking circumstance she had just fallen into. Yes, it was quite difficult to even do so much as _anything_, not when an oversized, dark skinned angry man had just gripped her arm, immediately yanking her inside the door.

His dark eyes glared straight into her wide ones as she now stood in the warmth of what seemed like a bar. It was nice and spacey, nothing like she had predicted it to be judging by the outside. But now was not the time to think about that, no, definitely not. Not when—

"Eh, what the hell d'you think you're doin?! Tryna pull somethin on me, huh?!" he demanded as his grip on her arm tightened, jerking her forward.

Gulp.

"I…I—uhm..didn't—"she stuttered, eyes wide as saucers as she stared back at the angry man.

"What's that? Speak up ya fool!"

"I, I'm sorry…!" she blurted. " It was an accident, I swear! Please, I wasn't trying to steal anything…I'm sorry…! If there is anything I can do—"

"Damn right there's somethin'." The angered man opened his palm out, drawing his fingers back and forth, "Cough it up, girl. That was plenty of good rum that went straight ta waste and I ain't paying for it, you understand?"

Tifa stared at his outstretched hand before glancing up at him again, "B-But I don't—I don't have any money on me…!"

The man blinked at her, shrugging his enormous shoulders, "And that's my problem because…? Look little girl, I don't care if it was an accident, I don't work day and night to run this bar so I can let accidents happen."

"I can repay you! Just..I don't have anything on me right now—and I promise! As soon as I find a job I'll give you however much you want! That's what—"

"How old are you?"

"…Uh—eighteen,"

"Fine. You're hired."

"What?" Tifa asked dubiously.

The dark man only frowned, "You heard me. From now on, you're workin' for me."

"What? No, w-wait—!" She couldn't possibly work at a bar?!

"Eh! Girl, either hand over the dough right now or you work for me from here on. Choice is yours. " He turned around and headed over to a small closet, pulling out a broom before calling out someone's name.

"Rose!"

Tifa bowed her head, eyes glued to the black and white tiled floor. What had she gotten herself into?! She didn't have any money and –damnit! Curse her clumsiness! Why was she so full of it? She sighed. She didn't have much choice now…maybe this could be a good thing, it wasn't like she had any job offers awaiting her reply, anyway…so, this may be her only chance…

"_Rosalie!_" he called again.

"Hold your goddamn horses, Barret, I'm coming."

An indolent and drawl-like response sounded from Tifa's right, and she lifted her head to see a slender figure saunter unhurriedly towards the two. With her golden blonde hair twisted messily on top her head, boldly defined eyes and red lips, the attractive woman reminded her of an old actress she had seen on television.

Her heavy boots came to a stop ad upon noticing the presence of the brunette, her eye brows shot up.

"Oh, what do we have here? Didn't I tell you it was wrong to pick up little girls off the street, Barret?" she nonchalantly asked.

The man, supposedly named Barret, scowled at the blonde before glaring at Tifa again, "This little pest was minglin' in the back doin' God knows what." He filled her in about the accident and his deal.

Rosalie kept her gaze on the brunette as one corner of her lips lifted, "Oh?" She crossed her arms and took a step closer, her feet falling into a circular motion as she surrounded the latter.

Tifa felt unusually conscious of herself as the blonde woman's bright eyes studied her.

"Hmm," the blonde began as she tapped a scarlet nail against her cheek, "…Nice height…"she murmured to herself, "good posture, I see…your bosom's not that bad either, eh?" she winked.

Tifa immediately covered her chest with her arms, feeling extremely embarrassed, but the lady ignored it. Instead she stopped in front of her, narrowing her eyes in concentration. All Tifa could do was stare back, feeling incredibly confused.

At last, her red lips twisted cunningly as she turned to look at the man waiting patiently behind her.

"I think she's perfect" The blonde purred before turning back to a very puzzled Tifa. Her fingers feathered against a loose strand of her dark hair, "Just need a little bit of tweaking, but you'll do."

…tweaking?

"So, what will it be? I ain't got all day y'know," came Barret's gruff voice.

Tifa stood there as the pair stared at her expectantly. She swallowed, _it was now or never._

It wasn't two seconds before she half heartedly agreed to work to work for him, Tifa found herself being dragged deep inside the bar by an eager Rosalie. She yanked her in what looked to be a small dressing room and at once she began rummaging through a chest of drawers that sat next to a tall mirror.

Tifa paled when the blonde women turned around, holding a pair of scissors.

"What…are you going to do with those?"

"Oh, nothing that you need to worry about." Rosalie smiled wickedly.

Oh, Boy.

---

It was well past midnight when Cloud pulled up in his driveway. He was still dressed in his uniform, a red polo shirt and black slacks, though he was let off work hours ago. He and Zack had gone straight to Reno's after. The three of them had been so absorbed in playing video games that they lost track of time.

Cloud had only taken a step inside his house when he heard a feminine laugh sounding from the kitchen. It was his mom. He wasn't expecting her till tomorrow morning. Silently, he swung the door closed but paused when a deeper voice reached his ears.

"Damn, your smell is driving me crazy, baby."

His jaw tightened and before he knew it, he was striding straight down the hall as his eyes caught his mother against the counter, a tall, dark haired man leaning over her.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Cloud snarled, immediately startling the two. Amy Strife jumped, slipping out of the man's embrace.

"Cloud!"

"Your greetings get politer each day," Eric remarked dryly as he turned his head.

"Glad you noticed." Cloud narrowed his eyes.

"Cloud! Where were you?!" Ms. Strife crossed her arms, "Do you _know_ what time it is?"

"_Yeah,_ I happen to _know. _What the hell, Mom," he raised his arms, "What's he doing here at _one _in the morning?!"

Eric stepped forward and cleared his throat, "Well, I just dropped by to say hello, I was just leaving—"

"Oh, and what a nice _hello _it was." Cloud snapped.

"Well, yes, it was, actually." Cloud rolled his eyes, if his mom wasn't around he'd punch that smirk off his face right there.

"Cloud, that's enough!" Ms. Strife cut in, "Don't you think you're being a _little _hypocritical right now?"

"Yeah. Only difference is I was at a _friend's_ house and—" he stopped, "_Oh_, but you two are _friends, _too right? Friends with benefits, I suppose?"

Ms. Strife went pink. Then she frowned and crossed her arms, "That's none of your business, Cloud."

"I think it is."

"You're just a kid, Cloud," Eric offered his two cents. He shook his head, "There are things you won't understand—"

"And you need to keep your crap to yourself." Cloud rounded on him.

"Cloud! There's no reason why you should be taking your anger out on Eric. You have a problem, go deal with it in your room."

"Yeah," Eric stepped forward, "Maybe a little _happy time_ will take the stress off your mind."

Cloud glared at the man. His green eyes challenged him as he leaned against the counter, his lips curved triumphantly. Oh, how he wished he could walk right up to him and smash his face. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Fucking Asshole. He ground his teeth and inhaled deeply through his nose, the blood was rushing to his head, pounding so hard against his skull it hurt.

A hand on his arm had him looking away. Pleading eyes told him to let it go. She had beautiful eyes, his mother. They were kind and warm, like bottled honey and golden caramel. But no matter how soft those eyes were, his head didn't stop pounding. In fact, it was getting worse.

"Cloud, please—"

He jerked his arm out of her grasp and turned, "Screw this. I'm outta here."

The door slammed shut behind him as he closed his eyes and took in the outside air, the cold autumn breeze rushing down his throat. He sat down on his porch, resting his arms against his knees as he looked off into the distance. The sky was dim tonight, there were barely any stars out and the moon was only a thin crescent. The darned streetlights weren't even working right now. The wind whistled down the silent street, picking up lonely, crisp leaves in its wake as the trees swayed in harmony.

He could understand why his mother was attracted to him, what with his tousled dark hair, olive skin, and his sharp, charming features. It was enough to have any woman fawning over him at his feet, but it didn't take an idiot to catch the underlying sly intentions. She should know better to think dating this man would ever make her as happy as she used to be when her husband was alive.

It was just so _infuriating _to see her all over him! She acted so different when she's with him. Was she really blind? Were all women like this?!

He ran a hand through his hair. He didn't even know why he was getting so worked up. It was her life; she could do whatever she wanted.

The murky street unexpectedly lit up as the sound of an engine reached Cloud's ears. He watched as a minivan rushed down the street and immediately skidded to an abrupt stop near his house. He squinted his eyes and frowned in the dark.

The passenger's door slowly opened and muffled voices carried out in the open. Someone stepped out. The wind picked up again and blue eyes caught sight of billowing long, dark hair.

"Remember. Tomorrow. Seven thirty!" a woman sounded from inside.

"Thanks for the ride," came a familiar mumble.

…Tifa?..._Tifa?_

Woah, what was _she _doing out this late?

The car sped off, and the street was dark and quiet again. Cloud watched as Tifa turned and briskly began walking up her driveway but when she came closer she froze. Even if it _was _dark, he knew she had spotted him. He had to admit, he must've looked pretty freaky right now, sitting still on the steps of his porch in the middle of the night as if it was the most normal thing to do. If he wasn't so pissed right now he would've scared her or even teased her, asking her if she was aware it was well past her bedtime, or if she just got back from visiting her home planet.

"…Cloud?"

Noo. It's Santa Claus.

She sounded tentative, almost _reluctant_. And then he realized. That was the first time she had said his name. Huh, again, if he wasn't so pissed, he'd tease her about that, too. It _did_ sound a bit weird coming from her.

"Hey." God, he sounded so dead.

"…Hi." He heard her feet shuffle against the pavement, "W, what are you doing out here?"

"Stalking you." He didn't know where that came from.

She grimaced, he could tell. She shook her head, "Are you…okay?"

He let his eyes wander over her shady face, "If I said no, what would you do?"

She was quiet for a moment, and then she tucked a hair behind her ear,"…I'd try and help."

He raised his brows as he rested his cheek against his palm. "Really."

"...Yes,"

Okay, something wasn't right.

She just asked him if he was _okay_. And then she said she'd _help_ him if he wasn't. There's gotta be something wrong with her. Did she get drunk? Did she get dragged by a couple of street punks and get high off of doobies?

He gave a low chuckle as an image of a girl wearing braids and glasses huddled around a group of punks smoking marijuana came into mind.

"What?" she asked, sounding slightly offended.

He shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "I'm okay," he stood up, "Thanks, though."

"Okay," she nodded.

He gazed at her as he reached for the door. "See you at school,"

"Good night," she said lightly.

Tifa heard Cloud's door click shut as she took the final step to her porch. Quietly as possible, she dug her key through the knob and slowly entered. Fortunately she had called earlier, informing her father that she'd be late, and that he should go to bed since her 'friend' offered to give her a ride.

Slipping out of her shoes, she rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. A quick glance at the clock told her it was almost two. She sighed and crept up the stairs, avoiding the creak on the third step. She was so tired, she didn't even feel like reflecting back on what just happened at the bar. All that filled her mind was the irrefutable need of some good shut eye.

---

_He kicked the ball as it collided with a thud against the tall tree. He'd been at it for the past thirty minutes, practicing his shooting skills. He'd gotten better, much better. But it wasn't enough to make the juniors' elementary school soccer team. Most of the team consisted of third and fourth graders, he was only in second. He didn't matter to them._

_He heard the clanking of pots from inside the house and sighed. He hadn't meant to hurt her, it just…happened. What was he supposed to do when that stupid rich boy insulted him in front of everyone in gym class? Just stand there as the others laughed at him? Because he would 'never be good at anything but sweeping the floor in his mom's kitchen'? All because he didn't have a father to raise him. _

_His mother cried when he came home, a large bruise on the side of his face. She said if his dad was here, then things would've been better. She missed his dad. He would have to, but he never got to know him. He died weeks before he was born._

_It pained Cloud to see her this way. He hated it._

_He hated Rufus ShinRa and his stupid rich family. _

_He swore that one day, he'd be just as good as him. Better, even. Then his mom won't cry. She won't miss his dad so much because Cloud would be there. And he'll take good care of his mother. _

_The sound of giggling danced to his ears and he scowled, narrowing blue eyes as he glanced sideways. There were four or five girls playing with a skipping rope, jumping and squealing with laughter. They were so annoying. Especially _her._ Stupid _her.

_It wasn't fair that she had it made, that she didn't have to _try. _She was just like Rufus._ _It wasn't fair. Not when he had to work for it, not when he had to watch in envy as everyone _adored _her because she was so _smart _and _cute _and _fabulous.

_He kicked the ball harder._

_She was an eyesore. _

"_Hi!"_

_Cloud groaned. _

_It took a moment for him to drag bored eyes to meet those lively ones._

"_What do you want."_

"_Are you okay?" her eyebrows pinched in concern, eyeing the band aid on his cheek, "I heard about what happened."_

"_I'm fine." Cloud looked away. _

"…_Okay." He was glad she didn't push further. "Then," she tucked a strand of dark, luscious hair behind her ear before clasping her hands together behind her back, "Wanna come play with us? We need one more player."_

_He snorted._

"_As if I'm _dying _to play Ring Around the Rosie with a bunch of girls," Cloud muttered as he walked over to the tree, picking the soccer ball with his small hands._

"_Girls can be just as fun as boys, you know." Tifa crossed her arms, "And we're not playing Ring Around the Rosie!"_

"_Then what is it? Having a tea party? House House? Playing with Barbies?" The girl opened her mouth, but he cut her off, "_Sorry_, but I've got more important things to do."_

"_Like what?" she chirped, genuinely curious now as she lightly bounced her heels. _

"_What does it look like?"_

"_You're practicing for try outs, aren't you?" she smiled knowingly, "Can I help?"_

"_Please. You'll only trip and fall, and then start crying. Soccer's no sport for a girl like you." Cloud snorted as the ball bounced off the tree, rolling to a stop near Tifa's feet._

"_Girls can be just as good!" she frowned._

"_Yeah, okay. Maybe in your dreams."_

_And before he could even react, the ball came flying at him with full speed as it collided right between his legs. He doubled over, hands flying to the victimized area as he watched Tifa spin on her heel with her nose in the air._

"_Hmph."_

_---_

The outrageous, high ended shriek that echoed across the room left a satisfying smirk on Cloud's lips as he set the now empty glass on the side table. Call him heartless, cruel, and cold, but there was noway in _hell_ he was letting this bastard live in peace after mistaking _him_ for Scarlet. As if that girl would ever be found early morning waking Zack up for soccer practice.

Zack whipped around as bewildered eyes landed on his best friend.

"What the fuuck was that for?!" he yelped.

"For being a dick." came Cloud's automatic reply. He threw a bundle of navy blue and grey at Zack's face on his way out the door. "You've got fifteen minutes."

Zack blinked in surprise before glancing at the calendar hanging on the wall beside him. "Shit!" he moaned as he flopped back against the bed, "Right when I was getting to the good part, too!"

He quickly rolled out of bed, grabbed his things and ran for the bathroom.

Half an hour later, the two found themselves running countless laps around the soccer field. Quick, ragged breaths rushed past Cloud's lips as he pushed further, feeling the strenuous strain building up along his leg muscles. His heart beat loud in his ears as he slowed down, his feet kicking heavily against the soil beneath. He spotted Reno and a few others slowing down not too far behind him.

"QUIT STALLIN' AND MOVE YOUR PANSY ASSES FORWARD!" barked Cid, their coach, as he stood on the side with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, a clipboard in his hands.

"Come on, team! Man up a little!"

Cloud glanced sideways as Zack caught up with them. It irked him to see the guy so cheerful this early in the morning. Just a while ago he was snoring like an oblivious pig. How he could switch from one mode to another so quickly, Cloud had no idea.

Sure, Zack could be a goofball at times. He was a funny guy. But when it came to soccer and team spirit, Zack was quick on his feet, determined and full of perseverance. His dedication, leadership and great skill were only a few reasons why he was captain of the Midgar Wolves.

Cloud huffed before shooting his feet off the ground again.

But Zack's grip on the game was slipping, and Cloud wasn't the only one who had become aware of it. He'd already missed two practices, and Cid definitely didn't take that as a good sign. If Zack didn't pull his act together and break up with his stupid, controlling girlfriend soon, he'd be in big, big trouble.

---

It was strangely quiet.

Strange, but pleasantly so. With soft, sunny warmth tickling her skin and the faint hum of the autumn breeze whispering in her ears, Tifa felt as if she hadn't slept this well for a long time. A puff of air rushed past her parted lips and she turned over under her blanket, sighing into her pillow. If only she could wake up to a morning like this every day. Where there was no rush, no catastrophe, damage or chaos…

No school…

Wait…no school?

NO SCHOOL?!?!

Eyes snapped open as they quickly collided with the clock.

It was five minutes to ten.

A strangled shriek left her lips and within a single heartbeat she scrambled out of bed, feet shuffling as she hastily grabbed her clothes for the day. School, school, school, _school! _How could she have possibly woken up this late on a school day?!

The peaceful atmosphere that lingered only moments ago and been thrown straight out the window as the brunette rushed in panic around her room.

How could she have slept in this late?! This was total outrage! This couldn't be happening!

Her feet nearly collided against the dresser as she suddenly caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

She paused.

It wasn't like much had changed, just that her hair tenderly framed her face with soft and textured layers instead of lying limp and lifeless like it had always had. Her hand lightly brushed against her new bangs, moving them away to skim a finger against her eyebrows as she recalled in pain how Rosalie had unsympathetically plucked the stray hairs out.

It would take a while getting used to it…

The time caught her attention again and she cursed, remembering that she was in the middle of hurrying. Tifa grabbed her hairbrush, quickly running it through her dark locks before using her fingers.

Her heart sank.

"Shit. Shit. Shit!!" she should've _known_ having her hair cut in so many layers couldn't possibly be braided without half of it slipping back out! The brush cluttered against the dresser as she haphazardly ran fingers through her hair again.

Why, why, why had the day already sunk this low already?

She sighed and glared at herself, gathering her long hair high on her head before she secured it with an elastic band. Her bangs and a few more strands slid out, but it did more justice than the braids. Without another glance she grabbed her bag and thundered down the stairs.

There was no time for breakfast, not when she had just missed her first period class and was about to miss her appointment with the guidance counselor. She was nearly out the door when the sharp ring of the telephone sprung from the kitchen. She moaned.

"Hello?!" she breathed.

"Tifa?" it was her dad. "Hey, you feeling okay? You didn't get up for school so I figured you'd be staying home…"

"No, I'm fine! I guess I forgot to set my alarm the other night but I'm going to school right now!"

"Oh, okay, be careful then."

"I will, Dad, I'm getting late so I should –"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you about your job…any good news?"

Her heart skipped a beat. Yeah she got a job, but …she wasn't entirely sure if he'd consider working at a bar _good news_. "Y-yeah can I tell you about that later? Sorry, I'm _really _late for school."

"Sure, pumpkin. Have a good day."

"Thanks, Dad. Bye!"

As soon as she hung up she dashed out the door.

---

"_Yuffie_," Cloud hissed as he stood next to the doorway of classroom number 102, Madame Brown's French class. He could spot Yuffie's tiny frame sprawled over a desk near the corner of the room, chewing pink bubblegum as she idly twirled her pencil between her fingers. He'd been trying to get her attention for the last minute but to no avail, she was too deaf. Or too busy daydreaming about Vincent.

He rolled his eyes. For a self proclaimed _oh_, _so mighty and great _ninja, she was pretty inattentive to her surroundings.

Pulling out his phone, he quickly texted her.

_Come out for a while. I'm bored _

He watched with a smirk as she jumped when suddenly, her stupid jingle rung loudly in the blunt silence. Her classmates stirred, turning their heads towards the back of the room, some amused while others relieved of focusing on anything than the black board.

'_Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?_

_Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?_

_Don't cha—'_

"Mademoiselle _Kisaragi_, please turn off that music before I take that thing away from you!"

"Uh—!" Yuffie fumbled with her phone , "Sorry!" she gave a nervous laugh.

Several girls giggled, "Oh my God, it's been _ages _since I've heard that song!"

Cloud shook his head. Hadn't she ever heard of the _vibrate _option?

After sliding her phone shut, Yuffie turned, eyes wandering until they collided with his. She glared at him. "_What?!" _

Cloud motioned with his hand for her to come out.

"I can't!" she mouthed out to him as she quickly glanced back at her teacher, and then lowered her gaze to her phone.

_She said I've gone on too many bathroom breaks this week! :(_

And to think…it was only Wednesday.

He rolled his eyes at her and she pouted.

Well, so much for killing off time with Yuffie…He sighed. He'd have to find someone else to bother.

_Loser_, he texted back, only because he couldn't resist. He pushed off the wall he'd been leaning on and grinned when the ringtone started up again.

"Mademoiselle _KISARAGI_!!"

Cloud pushed his hands in his pockets, still smiling as he turned down the hallway. He passed a few classrooms on his way and wondered if he should just go to his own class. He didn't want to though; the mere sight of Mr. Hojo's long greasy hair, crooked nose, and the million wrinkles around his mouth had Cloud snoring at his desk. Though he'd tolerate it most days, he just didn't feel like seeing this mad scientist today.

Regardless, skipping second period was no good. The hallways were fairly quiet and none of his friends had been in the cafeteria when he'd last checked. Zack had Data Management, and he insisted on going to class because he couldn't take his eyes off this pretty girl—which, by the way, _wasn't_ his girlfriend— who sat at the front of the class. Anyone would be better than _her_, in any case.

He nearly stopped in his tracks when the school's back door swung open and a disheveled Tifa rushed in, her bag in tow. Her cheeks were flushed and her glasses were fogged, she seemed to be out of breath. And, wait a minute…

Where were her braids?

The door behind her closed, catching her bag between and she lurched forward, soft strands of dark hair falling over her face. He watched with raised brows as she groaned and turned her head around, her long ponytail flicking over to slide down her shoulder.

So _that _was what was different about her. Her _hair…_

He gave a tiny laugh as he watched her struggle to free her bag. He leisurely walked up to her and crossed his arms. "Hey, you."

Ruby shaded eyes rose, then widened, "Hey! Time," she panted, "What's the time?"

Puzzled, he checked his phone, "Ten twenty—"

She collapsed against the door, sliding her eyes closed, "Thank God,"

The blond arched his brow as he stared at her flushed face, "What marathon did _you_ just run?"

"Not a _marathon_. I ran from home, I woke up late!" she moaned, "I missed History, too!"

Cloud snorted. Who'd be sad about missing _History_? Tifa Lockhart, apparently…

She smacked his arm, "It's not funny!"

He only laughed harder and she hit him again, "Okay, okay, it's not_._" He coughed, "yeah, it is, actually."

Tifa sighed, "Why am I even bothering with you?" she began to walk away but Cloud caught her hand, vaguely noticing how cold her skin was against his.

"Aw, don't _leave_,"

She looked baffled, "I have a guidance appointment in ten minutes."

"Let me walk you to the office, then."

She blinked at him and raised her eyebrows, "…Why?"

"Cause the office is all the way on the other side of school. So you'll be needing some company." He shrugged, giving her a sheepish smile, "And, I've got nothing better to do,"

"Um, okay." She shrugged a shoulder.

"Great!" He smacked a hand on her back, "Let's go!"

Tifa winced but kept quiet as she followed him down the hall, making sure there was a respectful distance between them.

"So," he glanced sideways at her, a smirk lingering on his face, "Where were you last night?"

Her brows drew down and she chewed her lip, "…Nowhere special." The last thing she needed was for Cloud to know she was hired as a barmaid. She hadn't even thought about what she'd tell her dad.

"Ahan," he reached out and flicked his hand through her ponytail, "Is that why your hair's all different?"

"…Not really," Tifa lied, keeping her eyes lowered to the ground before mumbling, "but I did get a haircut."

His eyebrows shot up and he grinned, his hand going for her ponytail again, "Let me see—"

"No!" she suddenly ducked low and covered her head with her arms.

A rumble of laughter escaped him, "That bad, huh?" She nodded and he smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets before looking away. They passed the glass windows of the gymnasium as voices shouted out and the sound of shoes squeaking against the polished floor bounced through. He spotted Reno, his long fiery red hair flying as he ran around with the basketball before quickly passing it to his teammate.

He glanced back at her. She was looking down, her arms wrapped around her middle, "You don't talk a lot," he said and she looked up.

She shrugged, her lips pressing into a tiny, awkward smile, "I know,"

"Why?" he found himself asking, it was something he had wondered for a long time now. She used to be quite the talkative one back when they were kids, always friendly and comfortable around anyone. Now she was just awkward and tense.

"I don't know," she fiddled with her glasses and looked away, "I just…there's not much to talk about."

"Sure there is…you can talk about anything. There's so much you can say."

"Really… Like what?" She ran her fingers along the long row of lockers.

"Like…_anything. _Talk about something totally random."

"…I can't think of anything," she said sheepishly.

"Okay, I'll show you random," his lips twisted amusingly, "tell me," he waited till she turned to look at him, "If you had an extra hour in a day, how would you spend it?"

She thought for a moment before saying, "Probably sleeping,"

"Seriously? I thought you'd say studying."

She gave him a look, "I'm not even that much of a geek."

Cloud laughed, "Fair enough. Okay," he stepped in front of her, facing her as he walked backwards, "Next question. What's your favorite ice cream flavor?"

"Um, Mint Chocolate Chip."

"What'd you eat for dinner yesterday?"

"Noodles."

"Are you superstitious?"

"Um, No?"

"what's your favorite color?"

"Peach."

"Do you wet your toothbrush before or after applying toothpaste?"

"…Before, I think."

"Who lives five houses away from you on the left minus two houses plus 3 houses minus six houses?"

"Uh…….me?" Cloud grinned.

"If you could be a rock, a penny, or a milk carton, what would you be?"

"Milk carton. No! Wait—a rock—"

"Too late, you're a milk carton. Bananas or Bananas?"

"Uh, bananas?" She looked baffled.

"Why did the chicken cross the road?"

"'Cause he was stupid."

"Are you a night owl or a morning person?"

"Night owl."

"Where were you last night?"

"I was at the—" she froze, eyes wide before narrowing, "I'm not answering that."

"Damnit," Cloud grinned, "I almost got it out of you!"

The corners of her lips twitched. "You're random."

"I believe that was the whole idea," Cloud said dryly and watched as a spontaneous grin spread her lips. Her eyes crinkled and lit up, and in that moment he felt as if he was falling back in the depths of his childhood, past the unpleasant lonely nights and thunderstorms, just to see her standing there, like a single ray of light on a cloudy day, smiling and _shining_ like she always did.

_That_, right there, was the real Tifa Lockhart.

"Cloud?" her voice invaded his thoughts, bringing him back to his senses. She gazed at him curiously, "I have to go now,"

"What?" He blinked, quickly realizing they were now standing next to the guidance office. "Oh," a hand flew to his neck, absently rubbing it as he checked the time. "Yeah, okay. See you around." He turned to leave.

"…Wait," She seemed hesitant, her brows pinched together as she tilted her head to the side, "Thanks…" she said slowly, as if she wasn't sure what she was saying, "…for walking me?"

The corner of his lips lifted in a lopsided smile as he shoved his hands in pockets, "Yeah, anytime."

She watched his back disappear down the hall as she felt a tiny smile pleading to break free. Maybe he wasn't such a jerk after all, she thought as she pushed through the office door.

---

It took her exactly three and a half vigorous yanks before the broken door of her father's rusty blue car gave way. It was raining again and people were scurrying around across the parking lot, some huddling under umbrellas while others used their books and arms to shield away from the freezing water.

"Hey, Dad," Tifa slid in the car, the shrill echo of the pouring rain pounding against his windshield. Her fingers swiped against the fog on her glasses to see her dad smile, a small, barely noticeable dimple forming beneath the graying hairs of his slight stubble.

"How was school?" he asked as he drove away.

Tifa shrugged indifferently, "The usual." The muffled sound of blasting music reached her ears and she turned around. "Hey." She greeted her little brother, even if she really felt like ripping his earphones out and scolding him about his ridiculous gangster get up.

Denzel lay sprawled against his seat. He acknowledged her with a single jerk of his head, "Sup, yo." Tifa stared at him for a moment before turning back towards the front. She eyed her dad and he just smiled amusingly.

"So," Mr. Lockhart glanced at her, "are you going to tell me about work or what?"

Tifa looked out the window. After countless rethinking during school, she had come to a decision. It wasn't a very _good_ decision, mind you, but she felt it had to be done.

"Oh, yeah," she began slowly, "I got hired…at that grocery store on Winston Street. Y'know, Sam's Grocer's?" She felt horrible for lying, she really did, but for some reason, she didn't want anyone to know. At least not yet. She'll tell her dad when she's ready.

"Ah, I know," he nodded as he kept his eyes on the road, "Yeah, that's…that's good to hear. When will you be starting?"

"Uhh…tonight. They said I need a bit of training, soo…they asked me to come in by seven thirty."

"Say word, who hired _Tifa?!" _snickered Denzel. "Did you forget to tell them you have some serious, hardcore issues like temper and lack of social and communication skills?"

"_Denzel_," Mr. Lockhart eyed him in the rearview mirror, his voice stern. "It's your sister's first job, be nice. And I think this job will help her improve her skills. Besides, everyone's got issues, there's nothing wrong with it."

"Yeah," agreed Tifa, "Denzel should get a job at the library, maybe then he'll learn to keep his mouth shut."

Mr. Lockhart chuckled but Denzel scoffed, "Whatever."

For the rest of the ride home, Tifa leaned her head against the window.

Seven thirty. She had until seven thirty to finish up all her homework and household chores, but that wasn't why she felt nervous. Every time she'd think of the bar, the uneasiness and anxiety would pick up again, quickly fluttering about her stomach like a storm of angry butterflies.

She took a deep breath.

Surely, a barmaid's job wasn't that difficult?

---

"Oh, good! You're on time. Come on, come on. I gotta show you some stuff." The moment Tifa stepped in through the back door Rosalie grabbed her arm and pulled her into the small dressing room. She made a fuss about her hair, scolding her that she didn't cut it so stylishly just so Tifa could tie it up.

Tifa looked puzzled when Rosalie handed two big shopping bags, "What's this?"

"Your uniform, of course," replied Rosalie as she laughed, "You didn't think you'd be serving drinks in _that _get up, now did you?" Tifa looked down at her brown corduroy pants and paint splattered shoes. "So I went shopping earlier, and I saw this and it was just _screaming _your name. Take a look."

Setting the bags on the ground, Tifa pulled out a white, short sleeved button up shirt and a black pleated skirt. Her brows shot up as she stared at the skirt, it couldn't_ possibly_ reach past mid thigh. Swallowing, she glanced in the other bag to see a pair of tall, black leather boots.

"W,wow," Tifa blinked as she looked back at Rosalie. She shook her head, "You didn't have to—"

Rosalie waved her off, "Oh, save the tears. I happen to like spending on others. Now get changed," Rosalie turned to leave, pulling the door closed, "and call me when you're done."

Oh Dear God.

Tifa stared down at the clothes in her hands, fingers skimming against the soft cotton shirt. She took a deep breath before freeing her hands so she could slip out of her sweater.

What had she gotten in to?

She couldn't help but feel the regret seeping into her system, nagging and clawing at her. _No_, she reminded herself, _no regrets._ _Pull yourself together, Tifa. It'll be alright. _

It didn't take long to get the shirt on, though she did go through a bit of a dilemma regarding the skirt. She was right, the hem only brushed against the middle of her thighs. She tugged it down, feeling awfully exposed. She grabbed the other bag, with the boots, and felt relieved as she pulled out a pair of knee socks.

"Did you die in there?" called Rosalie a few minutes later, "How long is it taking you?"

"I'm done—!" Tifa replied as she struggled with the boots.

The door swung open and Rosalie walked in, a hands on her hip, "Well, don't you look cute!"

Tifa gave a nervous laugh as she tucked a lone strand of hair. Rosalie frowned before stretching a hand out, "Your _hair_," she muttered before pulling her ponytail loose as dark hair spilled down her back. "_And,_ as much as I love dorks because they're just so _cute_, the glasses need to _go._ Which is why I _also_ got you contacts."

Before Tifa could protest, her vision blurred as she felt hands on arms, gently turning her around towards the mirror. She blinked until the haze cleared away.

"There! I think you're ready to go, Miss Lockhart," Rosalie smiled dangerously.

All Tifa could do was stare.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked it, please share your thoughts and review! Thanks :)


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